Advanced Wishes: Black or White
by Advance4ever
Summary: Ash and May arrive in Unova, so they can compete in the Unova League and Grand Festival. What the couple doesn't know is, they are going to face struggles that will put their love to the test, will it live or vanish? New friends and enemies will be made, but it is all part of the test that will teach Ash and May why having each other is important. Sequel to One Love, One Heart.
1. Zekrom by the Dozen

Chapter 1: Now or Never

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in Unova in just a few minutes. We recommend that you gather all your belongings and prepare for arrival." The announcement traveled throughout the cruise and people prepared for landing.

May was brushing her silky, brown hair while looking at the mirror. She smiled as she brushed her hair and admired her image, "I know I should be packing right now, but a girl's hair comes first?" The brunette giggled and winked at the mirror.

Suddenly, a door slammed opened and a boy with raven hair entered with his Pikachu, "May, come to the deck quick, you have to see this!" The boy announced when he entered and left the moment he finished speaking.

The slam startled May and she almost dropped her brush. When she gained her composure and turned around, she saw that the pair had vanished in a jiffy. The brunette frowned and placed her hands on her hip, "Ash better have a good excuse for startling me like that, I'm his girlfriend, he should know better."

May sighed and ran out of the room; she went up to the deck of the ship where Ash and Pikachu probably were. When she reached the deck she saw Ash and Pikachu overlooking a large piece of land just ahead of them. Ash turned around and waved to her.

May walked up and stood next to Ash. The messy-haired teen spoke to her when she reached them, "Look May, Unova!" May gazed at the new region and saw that there were multiple Pokémon they had never seen before, swimming and flying by the ship.

May stopped a Pokémon that looked Luvdisc swimming in the water, it was heart-shaped, but it had fins. She also saw a school of pink and blue Pokémon that had round heads with crown-like tufts. Ash and Pikachu stopped a whole group of green fish that had a slight resemblance to Carvanha, except that these Pokémon were smaller, but their jaws were just as large. The trio looked up and saw a flock of blue duck-looking Pokémon flying alongside a group of larger swan-like birds.

Ash, May, and Pikachu were amazed by the sight, they could already tell that this adventure would be an exciting one. Ash turned his gaze to May and they held their hands, "This is it May, the start of our new journey, you ready?"

"Ready when you are," the brunette sapphire eyes caught his auburn eyes and smiled at him.

Pikachu was the only one whose attention was caught by a dark cloud looming in the horizon. The mouse stared at the cloud with confusion, wondering what that is.

Behind the trio stood a group of three dressed in black coats and wore black hats. They also wore sunglasses so no one could identify them by their eyes. One of them was a woman with long, red hair and cherry lips. The other was a man with short, purple hair and stared at the teenagers through his sunglasses. The third person was too short to be a person and had a cat-like appearance; he too stared at the trio in front of them.

"Looks like the twerp has got himself a gwirlfriend," Meowth, the shortest of the group spoke first.

"Yes, it looks like it's that girl from Hoenn. Who would have thought that he'd end up with her, I always thought he would be with the purple-haired girl from Sinnoh or the red-head from Cerulean," James stated after Meowth spoke.

"Well, that doesn't matter to us. We're here because the boss personally assigned us with a mission, so we can't afford to blow it," Jessie said in a cold voice, trying to get teammates to focus on the task at hand.

"Hey jess, don't cha think it'd be a great idea if we tried to capture Pikachu anyway, think about it," Meowth suggested they should capture Pikachu while they are operating in Unova.

James became interested in the suggestion, "I think Meowth is on to something, Team Rocket's goal is to capture rare and powerful Pokémon for world domination. Don't you think that by capturing Pikachu we would be one step closer to that goal, Pikachu is the perfect candidate for the job."

Jessie looked at them with a blank look and then gazed at Pikachu, the red-haired woman sighed, "I don't see why not, Pikachu could make a great addition to the team."

"That's the spirit," the cat Pokémon standing by James and Jessie said while smiling. The Team Rocket trio stared at the yellow mouse standing on the rail with devious gazes.

**A few minutes later…**

Ash and May were the last ones to board off because they hadn't packed earlier. "Thank you for riding with us on the S.S Kennedy, I hope you enjoyed the trip and welcome to Unova!" That was the final announcement the captain of the ship made after all passengers got off the cruise.

The trio looked around when they set foot in Unova. "Hey Ash, Professor Juniper is supposed to be picking us up right?" May asked her boyfriend.

"She's supposed to, but where is she? I guess she must be running late. Why don't we start walking, we might find her on the way," Ash suggested and May agreed with him while Pikachu got on his shoulder.

When the couple began walking something reached out for Pikachu, trapped him in a rhombus-like cage and pulled the mouse back. Ash's eyes widened and turned around, "Hey, what's going?"

May turned around and the pair glared at trio in front of them, "Who are you guys?" the brunette asked the mysterious strangers with an upset tone.

The woman with red hair laughed at them and spoke, "What a question, twerpish indeed!"

The man with purple hair followed, "We'll answer these questions when we feel the need!"

"Brining the blinding white light of evil into the future!" the woman extended her right arm.

"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe," the man made a fist as he talked.

"Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity," the smallest of the three jumped in front of his partners.

"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!" the woman exclaimed and revealed herself.

The man also freed himself of the dark clothing and yelled, "And with thunderous emotion, I am James!"

The small member of the trio took off his clothes and showed his identity, "Wisest of the wise, Meowth!"

The three stood together and pointed menacingly at the couple, "And now gather, under the name of Team Rocket!" Jessie and James also revealed their change of uniform; it was similar to the old one, except the white was replaced by black.

Pikachu tried to escape the cage with Thunderbolt, but even though the electricity traveled through the handle, it was stopped by a shield that emerged at the end of the handle and Team Rocket laughed mockingly at Pikachu's futile attempts to escape.

"Team Rocket, what are you doing here? I thought you might have learned your lesson and stopped trying to capture Pikachu!" Ash gave the trio a dirty look.

May also gave them a furious gaze, "Nothing has changed about you guys except the fact that you've had a change of wardrobe."

"How nice of you to notice our change in style twerpette, but why would we ever stop trying to capture a Pikachu as powerful as this one?" Jessie gave the brunette a cunning smile.

"You're Pikachu is destined to serve Team Rocket, there is no way that we would ever give up trying to catch it," James gave Ash a clever smirk.

"Besides, you lovebirds have each other now, so I don't see why you would miss Pikachu, here," Meowth glared at the pair while smiling.

Ash and May continued to frown, but a light red blush came over their faces when Meowth called them "lovebirds". _So even Team Rocket knows that we're a couple now too_ was the thought that crossed Ash and May's minds.

The pair then noticed something strange hovering over Team Rocket; it was a pitch black cloud with a blue center. The cloud resembled a hurricane. Everyone looked above them, including Team Rocket and they were all puzzled about what it was. A loud roar came from the cloud that frightened all of them. May grabbed Ash's arm and had a worried look on, "Ash, what is that thing?"

Her black-haired partner stared intensely at the cloud, "I don't know, but it doesn't look friendly."

Another loud roar came from the cloud that resulted in Jessie and James hugging each other in fear, "Jessie, I don' think the cloud likes us," the purple-haired Rocket stated with fear.

"But everything was going so smoothly," Jessie complained with a frightened look, fully knowing that their attempt in capturing Pikachu was going to fail because of the hovering cloud.

"Hey, isn't tis the cloud the boss was talking about?" Meowth wondered out loud with a scared look on his face as well.

A screech came from the cloud and a powerful blue thunderbolt shot out from it. The attack caused everyone to fly, Ash grabbed May to protect her and the auburn-eyed teen took damage from the assault. Team Rocket also flew back while yelling in pain. Pikachu was also blasted away, but the blue bolt managed to break to cage, freeing him from Team Rocket's clutches.

The flash blinded everyone so no one was able to see what was going on. Ash lay on top of May with his hands against the ground, ready to protect her. The boy took a look at May when the light weakened and smiled at her reassuringly, "Don't worry May. I'm here." The raven-haired boy assured her that everything was going to be ok after seeing her frightened gaze.

May grinned at him and nodded her head in response. The light from the thunderbolt faded and the couple saw Team Rocket struggling to get up. James held his head in pain, it had hit against the ground when they flew back, but he was ok and so were his teammates.

"We have to get out here, it's too dangerous, besides the boss will want to hear about this," Jessie told James and Meowth while handing them jetpacks.

The two human members of Team Rocket flew off with their jetpacks while Meowth said one last thing to the twerps, "This isn't over, we'll be back!" the Kanto Pokémon smirked at them slyly and flew off.

Ash, May, and Pikachu were all a little confused, they had never Team Rocket use any fancy equipment before. "That's new," May said as she looked at the sky.

The trio got up and looked back at the hovering cloud. Another roar came from the cloud that frightened May; Ash knew that he needed to do something, "Pikachu use Thunderbolt on the cloud!"

Pikachu nodded and shot out a powerful Thunderbolt, "Pika…chu!"

Another thunderbolt was released from the cloud and easily canceled out Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Ash grinded his teeth and glared at the cloud, _what is that thing_. The auburn-eyed teen stared at it with Pikachu and May; the three eventually saw a vague figure among the clouds that resembled a dragon with menacing ruby-red eyes and blue spark at the end of its tail.

The unknown figure screeched again and let out a thunderbolt that shot out much faster than the previous two. This time Ash wasn't able to protect May because of how fast the thunderbolt had been released. The trio flew against the ground yet again and was blinded by the strong light.

The creature hidden in cloud growled that caused an explosion inside the cloud and figure flew out of it with incredible speed. None of them were able to identify the fast-moving figure as they got up.

When the flash faded, Ash got on his feet and saw his friends struggling to get up because of electricity. He walked over to his beloved, "May, are you alright?" the boy questioned.

May sat up and gave him an assuring smile, "Yes, thank you Ash." The boy pulled her up and the two grinned at each other. Then the two walked over to Pikachu and Ash picked him up.

"Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash asked his best friend as he held the mouse in his arms.

The yellow mouse nodded and licked the boy. May and Ash grinned at Pikachu, they were all relieved that the incident had ended, but they still wondered what that cloud was.

"Excuse me, are you Ash and May?" a voice called out and the couple turned around. They saw a young woman with green eyes and brown hair, wearing a lab coat.

"That's us," Ash answered the woman's question.

"Great, nice to meet you, I'm Professor Juniper," the female smiled at them and introduced herself.

The duo walked up to and smiled, "Hi there, I'm Ash, from Pallet Town."

"And I'm May, from Petalburg City," the couple officially introduced themselves.

"Professor Oak told you were coming, sorry for keeping you here for half an hour. I had some things to finish up at the lab before coming here," Professor Juniper apologized and gave them a sheepish smile.

"It's no problem," Ash responded kindly.

Juniper nodded at him, "Well alright then, why don't we get in my jeep and drive to the lab."

They all agreed and took off in the jeep. As they drove through the woods, May had Pikachu sitting on her lap and she wrapped her arms around the little Pokémon. Ash next to her and both admired the Pokémon lurking among the trees. There were all kinds of Pokémon, but the most common a group of deer-like and chipmunk-looking Pokémon.

"Wow, there's so many Pokémon," May's eyes shined as she looked at the Pokémon.

As Ash admired the Pokémon too, he took out the C-Gears and gave one to May. "May, why don't we put this on now that we're in Unova," Ash suggested and the brunette shook her head.

"There are many things in Unova that you'll never find in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh, from Pokémon to technology. You're going to love it," Professor Juniper told them.

The messy-haired teen looked at Pikachu when Juniper said that and rubbed his chin, "You hear that pal? Unova has loads of surprises."

"Ash, May, you should probably know that any Pokémon you are carrying like Pikachu, is extremely rare here so you'll probably get a lot of attention for that," the green-eyed professor informed.

"Are there really no Pokémon from the other regions here professor?" May asked the older female about Pokémon in Unova.

"There are, but the numbers are really limited, so it's like they don't even exist here," Professor Juniper told the sapphire-eyed girl.

"Speaking of Pokémon, professor we ran into some trouble with a group named Team Rocket and this really black cloud back at the harbor. I was wondering if you can make some tests on Pikachu to see if he's alright," Pikachu's trainer asked Professor Juniper as she drove.

The professor frowned a bit when she heard "Team Rocket" and "black cloud"; she was familiar with both, but decided to shrug it off and smiled. "Of course we'll check Pikachu, don't worry Ash."

Ash smiled when Professor Juniper said yes and petted Pikachu with May until they finally arrived at the lab. Professor Juniper took Pikachu to the testing room while Ash and May went to phone their parents and Professor Oak.

* * *

Professor Juniper looked at the computer screen to see what the computer had determined regarding Pikachu's conditions. Pikachu sighed as he remained seated on a structure that was encircled by glass and strings were attached to his cheeks, he never did like getting tests.

Then Ash and May walked in with May asking him something, "Do you think we should have told our parents about the incident with that storm and Team Rocket?"

Ash thought about it for a minute, but then nodded sideways. "Nah, if had told them then they wouldn't stop worrying, especially my mom."

May thought about what Ash had said and knowing their parents, he was probably right so she nodded in agreement. They walked up to Professor Juniper and Ash told her, "Professor I spoke to Professor Oak and he wanted me to remind you to send him that data he requires."

Juniper shook her head, "No problem, I'll send it to him as soon as I'm done here. Thanks for the reminder Ash."

Then Ash asked about how Pikachu was doing so far.

"Pikachu seems to be doing fine, he's enveloped by an electrical field, but aside from that he's in one piece," Professor Juniper informed him with a smile.

The auburn-eyed teen approached Pikachu and said, "Looks like you're ok buddy, you should be able to come out of that thing in just a few minutes." Ash grinned at Pikachu and the mouse returned the gesture, but he really did want to get out of the rube.

All of a sudden, one of Juniper's lab assistants walked into the room, "Professor Juniper a new trainer is here to pick up his starter Pokémon."

"Is it that time of the year month already?" Professor Juniper clearly hadn't expected any guests aside from Ash, May, and Pikachu. The lab assistant nodded and walked out of the lab.

"Excuse me you guys, I have to handle this. The machine will automatically release Pikachu when the testing is done," Professor Juniper excused herself and left the room.

May looked at the professor as she exited, "I wonder who the new trainer is," the brunette pondered out loud.

"Let's go find out," Ash told his girlfriend enthusiastically and grabbed her by the hand. They both rushed out of the room, but not before telling Pikachu that they'd be right back.

By the entrance to the lab they spotted Professor Juniper with a blonde-haired boy with a similar haircut to Paul, but slightly shorter. "Ash, May, nice of you to join us. This is Trip; he's starting his Pokémon journey today."

"Hi I'm May, nice to meet you," May greeted the serious-looking boy.

"Hey there I'm Ash," Ash formally introduced himself as well.

"Hi," Trip gave them a stern greeting.

Ash, then spoke to the boy again. "So you were you able to sleep last night without thinking about getting your first Pokémon? Were you so excited that you couldn't stop talking about? I remember I was," the auburn-eyed teen grinned sheepishly.

"I remember that I wasn't very excited," May stepped into the conversation and gave Trip a sheepish smile too.

Trip looked at them strangely, "Where did you guys say you were from again?"

"Oh right, I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto," Ash forget to include the details regarding where he was from.

"I'm from Petalburg City in Hoenn," May followed Ash.

Trip raised an eyebrow. "Kanto, Hoenn? That explains it, you're from the boonies," Trip stated and gave them a cunning smirk.

"Boonies, what's that supposed to mean?" May glared at him while Ash just ignored Trip's harsh comment.

"Hey come now, Trip it's your first day as a trainer, let's be happy about it. Let me show you the starter Pokémon right now," Professor Juniper tried to ease the tension and released the Unova Pokémon one by one.

Juniper released an otter-like Pokémon with a white round head, light blue body with a scalchop on its stomach and blue triangular ears. "This is Oshawott, a Water-type Pokémon," Professor Juniper introduced it.

"Oshawott!" The small Pokémon greeted by jumping up and down repeatedly.

"He's so cute and energetic," Ash complimented the Water-type Pokémon.

"I just want to grab it and squeeze it," May admired the adorable Pokémon with glistening eyes.

The professor released the next Pokémon, "This is Tepig, a Fire-type Pokémon." The Pokémon was pig-like with most of its body colored orange, except its head, which was black and its forehead was yellow. Its nose was pig-like and had a spiral tail with a sphere at the end of its tail.

"Te te tepig!" the Fire-type sneezed and let out a few embers.

"Yep, that's a Fire-type," Ash stared at the pig-like Pokémon.

"This one looks so cute, I almost can't stand it!" May was tempted to just grab the chubby starter and embrace it in a hug.

The Unova professor threw the last Pokeball and revealed the final starter, "This is Snivy, a Grass-type." The Pokémon was snake-like and its body was mostly green, except for its cream-colored underside. It also had yellow markings around its eyes and stood in front of the group proudly.

Ash was impressed by the Grass-type, "This one sure has a lot of confidence in itself, and it looks so cool." The auburn-eyed teen continued eyeing the starter.

"It reminds of your Sceptile, Ash, when it was just a Treecko it displayed this type of behavior," May pointed out how similar Snivy and Treecko had in common.

Trip saw that the two foreigners kept admiring the starter Pokémon and frowned, "Hey, don't forget that I'm the one choosing."

Ash's eyes shifted to Trip and smiled, "We know that, calm down Trip."

Trip ignored the boy and took out a camera. Ash and May wondered what he was going to do with it. Trip then took snapshots of Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy and analyzed them for a few seconds. Everyone just looked at him, wondering what he was up to.

The blonde-haired teen looked up at Professor Juniper and smirked, "I've decided. I'm choosing Snivy."

"Excellent choice," Professor Juniper complimented his decision. Oshawott turned pale and dropped on the floor like a statue while Tepig sighed with a sad look on its face, which May took note of.

"That's so cool Trip, nice pick," Ash complimented Trip, but the boy ignored him.

Professor Juniper reached into her pocket and handed Trip a Pokédex and six Pokeballs. "This is your Pokédex; you'll need that if you want to learn about all the Pokémon you come across. And here are Pokeballs to capture other Pokémon; Snivy's Pokeball is also among them, these are all important items so remember to keep them with you at all times."

Trip received the items and nodded, "That's basic. I guess I'll be heading on my way now." Trip prepared to leave until he was interrupted.

After staring at the disappointed Tepig for so long, May couldn't help but do something and came up with an idea. "Professor Juniper if you don't mind, can I please take Tepig with me. The poor thing looks so sad that it won't get to travel," May clasped her hands and begged while staring at the older woman with her shiny sapphire eyes.

Ash smiled at May's consideration for the happiness of other Pokémon, to think that a longtime ago, May didn't care for Pokémon. The messy-haired teen grinned at the idea of May's good nature; he hoped Professor Juniper would say yes to her request. Any Pokémon and especially a Pokémon like Tepig would be great for May and vice versa. May would use her motherly instincts and raise Tepig so well, she would treat it in the same way she had treated Swablu and Manaphy in the past.

Trip decided to stay a bit longer and hear what Professor Juniper would say, _typical behavior from someone that's from the boonies_.

Professor Juniper couldn't seem to decide, but she took a close look at the sad-looking Tepig and then at May. Professor Oak had told her so many good things about May that this might work out, Tepig would be a good partner for May. The green-eyed woman smiled and said, "Alright May, you can keep Tepig."

May's eyes glistened, "Thank you so much, professor. I promise I'll take good care of it." Professor Juniper nodded at the girl, knowing May would take good care of Tepig.

Tepig's eyes shined with happiness after hearing Professor Juniper's response and wagged its tail. Oshawott looked even paler after hearing that, which Ash took note of and wondered, _maybe I should ask Professor Juniper if I can take Oshawott with me_.

Ash's lost his train of thought when he heard Trip though, "Well, professor I'll be on my way. Thank you for your time," the Unova boy thanked her and walked out of the lab.

"It was a pleasure, Trip," Professor Juniper grinned at him as he left.

Ash ran after Trip the moment the new trainer exited the lab, "Trip, wait!"

"Ash we're you going?" May asked, but the boy just ran ahead and the brunette sighed. She ran after the boy when she realized she wouldn't get an answer if stood there.

"Hey Trip, wait up," Ash called out to the boy just a few feet ahead of him.

"What is it?" Trip asked the auburn-eyed teen.

Ash stopped in front of him and May caught up with them just a few seconds after Ash did. "Ash, why'd you run off like that?" the sapphire-eyed girl asked her boyfriend.

"I wanted to know what Trip was going to do now," the black-haired teen responded.

Trip smiled smugly at him,_ so that's what you want to know_? Ash turned to Trip after speaking to May, waiting for an answer. The blonde-haired teen spoke, "The basics, which are go around battling and collecting 8 gym badges to compete in the Unova League."

"Me too, this is great, we can be rivals!" Ash was excited about having a rival while May knew that she should have seen this one coming, it's typical of Ash to get excited when he made rivals. Even after getting together, Ash retained some of his more typical traits like his interest for Pokémon and his eager determination when it came to battling.

Trip continued to smile smugly at Ash, "So it appears. I'll look forward to it, if you make it."

"You bet I will," Ash made a fist while a confident smile formed on his face.

Trip's attention turned to May, "Do you plan on competing in the Unova League too?"

May smiled and corrected him, "Actually, I'm here to compete in the Unova Grand Festival."

The Nuvema teen grinned slyly, "Well, you should probably know that the Grand Festival here is much more difficult than any held in the boonies."

The brunette glared at him and made a fist, "Can you stop saying that we're from the boonies!"

Ash held her by the shoulders and told, "Calm down May, don't listen to what he says." Ash glared at Trip for a moment after he made May mad, but he knew that it'd be best to just stay cool. The auburn-eyed teen hated when someone was looking for trouble with his lover, he would never let anyone insult or inflict pain on her as long as he is around.

May sighed and just smiled sheepishly at Ash, "You're right Ash, I'm sorry."

Suddenly, the trio heard a, "Pikapi!" and turned to see where it came from. Pikachu ran up to Ash and May, and then he climbed on Ash's shoulder and greeted the couple.

"Buddy, you're done," Ash grinned at him and Pikachu nodded.

Trip's eyes widened when he saw the Pokémon, "What Pokémon is that?" The blonde-haired teen took out his Pokédex and listened to what the machine had to say about the mouse.

"Pikachu, it occasionally uses an electric shock to recharge a fellow Pikachu that is in a weakened state," the machine stated in its robotic voice. Trip put the Pokédex away and took snapshots of the mouse with his camera.

The trio just looked at Trip strangely until he stopped taking pictures. The trainer glared at the pair and said, "This is why we dislike people from the boonies, Pikachu is extremely rare here so it's a big deal. Don't go showing it off like it's nothing special."

"Pikachu is more than just a Pokémon to us, he's our friend. We don't see it as a big deal to have him hang out with us and we certainly don't do it to show off," May told Trip about their relationship with Pikachu.

Trip ignored May's comment and kept staring at the Pikachu, "Is your Pikachu strong?" the boy asked Ash.

"You bet. Do you wanna see how strong?" Ash smiled at Trip confidently.

"You're on," Trip gave the Kanto boy a cunning grin.

The group walked to a nearby battlefield, where Ash stood at one end and Trip at the other while May sat on the log. _Ash, is gonna win this one, he has more experience and Pikachu is really powerful so there's no way Trip can win, _May thought to herself and smiled, certain that the victory would go to her boyfriend.

Pikachu stood in front of Ash, the mouse was clearly ready for battle. Trip just smirked smugly, "Let's end this quick! Go Snivy, use Tackle!" Trip released his starter Pokémon and the Grass-type wasted in no time in attacking.

"Alright Trip, get ready! Pikachu use Volt Tackle!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu began building up speed for electricity and aimed for Snivy, "Pika pika pika pika!" the mouse yelled, but for some reason no electricity had charged up.

"Huh?" Ash was surprised with the result.

"Why can't Pikachu use Volt Tackle?" May asked no one in particular.

Pikachu became distracted with the thought regarding his inability to use Volt Tackle. In the meantime Snivy tackled and sent the mouse flying. Trip took a snapshot of Snivy tackling Pikachu and grinned, "That one is going in the book."

Ash grinded his teeth, he felt as though he was being mocked, "Why do you keep taking pictures?" the Pallet boy asked the boy in the orange sweater.

"I'm taking photos of any major moments in my journey to remember about in the future," Trip grinned cunningly.

"That guy is a jerk," May frowned; she wondered if Paul treated Ash as bad as Trip.

"Now Snivy, use Leaf Tornado!" Trip extended his arm forward.

"Leaf Tornado, what's that move?" Ash questioned when he heard Trip say the command.

"Never heard that one before," May also was unfamiliar with the attack.

Snivy began spinning with its head facing downwards and then a large tornado of wind formed that was made up green energy. Snivy aimed the green energy tornado towards Pikachu as the mouse prepared to counter.

"Pikachu, counter it with Thunderbolt!' Ash told his friend to use another Electric-type move.

"Pikachu!" the mouse yelled, but when he opened his eyes he saw that no electricity had been released.

"What's happening?" Ash grinded his teeth again, _why can't Pikachu use his attacks_?

"What's the matter with Pikachu, it looks like he's unable to use any attack," May became worried as she Leaf Tornado approach.

"You know, you should really stop calling out attacks that your Pokémon doesn't know," Trip laughed at his opponent.

Even Professor Juniper's Oshawott and May's Tepig had been spying on the battle; they had clearly gotten away from the lab to see what everyone was doing. The two starters were also surprised that a Pikachu could not use electric attacks.

Snivy's Leaf Tornado hit Pikachu directly and sent Pikachu flying. "Quick Snivy, hit it with Tackle before it touches the ground!" Trip demanded.

"Pikachu counter it with Iron tail," Ash stated, unsure if that attack could be used. Pikachu got his composure and turned his tail into iron. Then the mouse hit Snivy head on, with both Pokémon reaching a standstill.

"Well at least Pikachu can use Iron Tail, it doesn't look like he can use Electric-type moves, but why?" May wondered and recalled any previous events that might be responsible for this. Then she recalled their encounter with the black cloud, Pikachu been hit one of the cloud's blue thunderbolts, _is that why Pikachu can't use electric attacks_?

Snivy flipped backward and so did Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded and his pal ran at an incredible speed towards Snivy.

"Snivy, use Tackle!" Trip retaliated and Snivy charged at Pikachu. Just when the two were about to collide, Trip made another command, "Jump over Pikachu and use Leaf Tornado!" Pikachu and Ash were caught by surprise and a Leaf Tornado hit Pikachu from above, sending the mouse flying.

Snivy stood by its trainer as it waited for Pikachu to get back up, but the mouse dropped to the ground. "Looks like your Pikachu is down for the count, how about you try returning to the basics." Trip chuckled and returned Snivy. The Unova boy looked at his Pokeball, "What do you know? Our first victory, I made the right choice picking you."

Ash glared at Trip as he walked away, vanishing amongst the trees. The raven-haired teen walked over to Pikachu and picked him up, "Pikachu…I'm sorry that we lost."

Pikachu gave the trainer a weak smile, the mouse really didn't care if they lost, he just cared that he knew his friend and trainer would always be there for him. May walked over them, shocked at the defeat. "Ash, I'm sorry that you lost, how could this have happened?"

"I don't know," the boy hid his eyes under the brim of his hat.

May was heartbroken by Ash's sad expression. "I think it has something to do with the thunderbolt Pikachu received earlier today from that cloud, it must have done something to Pikachu," the brunette stated her explanation for the bizarre battle.

"That's probably it; the thunderbolt must have disabled Pikachu's electric attacks somehow? But does this mean Pikachu won't be able to use Electric-type moves?" the auburn-eyed teen stared at the ground with disappointment.

"I'm sure Ash, but I'll promise we'll find a solution," the brunette leaned in to kiss him on his lips.

Ash couldn't hold May by the waist because Pikachu was still in his arm, but the boy kissed her with the usual passion. He explored her mouth his tongue and he felt so fortunate to have May with him. The girl was his one and only love, he didn't want anyone else with him because no one could ever comfort him like May. The brunette also explored the boy's mouth with her tongue, she knew that the least they could do right now was share a passionate moment together. They had been through enough for one day.

The two separated and May looked at him with caring eyes, "Why don't we head to the lab? I'm sure Professor Juniper can help us."

Ash returned the gesture with a warm, glistening gaze. The boy nodded and they walked back to the lab with Pikachu.

Oshawott and Tepig smiled as they saw the couple walk off, Tepig felt a wonderful feeling inside him, he knew that with people like them around, traveling and battling would be great. Oshawott couldn't help, but glare at his partner; he knew that he was the only staying at the lab.

* * *

Back in the room where they tested Pikachu, Professor Juniper stood next to Ash and May while staring at the screen intensely, "What could have happened to Pikachu that disabled his ability to use electric attacks…" the professor murmured.

Ash and May stared at Pikachu, who was put in the glass prison again for testing. The mouse was clearly upset with the situation, but the pair kept smiling at him reassuringly. "Don't worry Pikachu, everything is going to work out," May assured her boyfriend's best friend.

All of a sudden, they heard a loud thunder outside that caught the professor, Ash, May, and Pikachu's attention. Ash and May looked out the window and saw the same dark cloud from before, "Not this again," the auburn-eyed teen became frustration.

"Professor Juniper, I was wondering if you could explain what that dark cloud is," May talked to the professor with a concerned expression on her.

Professor Juniper sighed, "This seems to be Zekrom's doing."

"Zekrom?" Ash asked the woman, unsure about what the woman was talking about.

"Yes, Zekrom, the legendary Dragon/Electric-type Pokémon of Unova, it is a Pokémon of Unova Mythology that is said to represent ideals and is responsible for the creation of this region alongside another dragon. Rumors travel across Unova, saying that Zekrom travels through a dark cloud that serves as its vessel and it has the ability to manipulate lighting or anything related to electricity." Professor Juniper gave a detailed description of the Legendary Pokémon.

From what the professor just told them, Ash and May realized that Zekrom is a force not to be reckoned with. Suddenly, a loud roar came from the cloud and a large blue thunderbolt shot out that hit the lighting rod of the laboratory. The electricity released from Zekrom traveled all the way to the cables attached to Pikachu and shocked the Pokémon, causing it to squeal in pain.

"Pikaaaaa!" the mouse squealed at the pain as May and Professor Juniper watched in horror as well as Tepig and Oshawott, whom happened to be watching from the door entrance. Ash tried to approach Pikachu, but the lighting encircling Pikachu blasted him towards the floor.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out as the room became illuminated by a white light that blinded all of them. Zekrom roared and caused another explosion in the sky, which resulted in him escaping again at an astounding speed. The cloud that hovered above the lab also vanished in the process.

Back in the room, the light had faded and everyone saw Pikachu standing onto of the destroyed structure that contained him. The glass had cracked and any nearby cables hanged. Pikachu stood proudly and stared at his friends, whom finally gained the ability to see again.

"Pikachu…are you ok?" Ash got up and gave his friend a puzzled look. Juniper and May were also confused as to why Pikachu was smiling.

"Pika pi pikapi pikachu!" The mouse waved his arms with a smile.

Ash was still a little confused, "Really? You think you can use electric attacks this time?"

"Pi!" the mouse nodded with a grin.

The black-haired teen formed a smile, "Ok, why don't we try it out. Pikachu use Thunderbolt on me!" the boy pointed at himself.

"Ash, are you crazy?!" May yelled at him for making such a request, did he want to get shocked to an unbearable point.

"No, but I want to see if Pikachu can really use electric attacks. C'mon pal, hit me!" the auburn-eyed teen told his friend.

Professor Juniper laughed nervously and May palm faced herself as Pikachu happily charged up for Thunderbolt. The mouse let out a powerful Thunderbolt that shocked Ash to the very core.

"Gaaaaaah!" the boy yelled as he was electrocuted and everyone else watched with amazement. When Pikachu stopped, Ash looked like charcoal, but he had a smile on his face, "Yeah pal, you still got it." Those were the only words he could say before he dropped to the floor with a smile on his face.

* * *

**Later that day…**

Professor Juniper stood outside the lab with Ash, May, and Pikachu. Ash had to change switch to another set of Unova clothing before going on the road; no one would like him to go around smelling like something burnt.

"Alright May, here's Tepig's Pokeball, he's already in there so that's set. I also have some Pokeballs and Pokédex to give you both," Professor Juniper handed the couple everything they would need. May's Pokédex was white while Ash's was black, just like the C-Gears.

Oshawott stood next to Professor Juniper with an upset look and just looked at the humans. "Thank you professor, we're going to need all this," May thanked the older female for everything.

"Yeah, thank you for helping us out with Pikachu and for having us the whole morning," Ash smiled as he scratched Pikachu and looked at Professor Juniper.

"It was no problem; it was nice to meet the three of you. Don't hesitate to call whenever you need anything ok," Professor Juniper told the group and got nods from all of them.

"So long professor," Ash waved goodbye with May and Pikachu as they walked toward the path leading to the next town.

The trio continued walking as Professor Juniper and Oshawott waved goodbye until an unexpected attack was released from somewhere that caused dirt to fly everywhere. Ash, May, and Pikachu started coughing as they became blinded by the dirt while Professor Juniper and Oshawott looked around to see what was going on.

"What now!" Ash yelled as he hid his eyes from the dirt.

"I don't know," May tried to figure out what was going on, but no thought struck her.

The only thing that could be heard was a bunch of people laughing sadistically at the confused group, the laughter sounded like it came from above.

**That was Chapter 1 folks, hope you enjoyed it. Review if you would like to ok. There's also one thing I'd like to ask from you, would any of you like to post up the previous story One Love, One Heart (I've begun editing the fanfic for any grammatical errors and things like that, I'm up to Chapter 9 right now though, lol) on Serebii or any Advanceshipping website so that others can read it if they wish? PM me if you are interested in helping me with that or leave it on your review ok, thanks guys, catch ya guys soon!**


	2. 12 Spells Lover and Iris

**Decided to update today as thanks to you guys for your support, enjoy Chapter 2. We'll discuss more about this fanfic at the end of the chapter. **

Chapter 2: Everything You Want

"What gives, who did that?" Ash started opening his eyes when the dirt finally dispersed.

The sounds of laughter continued as everyone panicked. "Whoever they are, they don't sound friendly," May said as she took note of the menacing tone in the laughter.

Professor Juniper and Oshawott walked over to the trio, "Are you guys ok?" The professor had a worried look on.

"Yeah, thanks professor, but who attacked us?" the raven-haired teen assured her that they were fine.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled and pointed to the lab.

Everyone looked at Pikachu, what was the mouse pointing at. "What's the matter Pikachu?" May asked the Electric-type, but she felt a cold feeling travel through her spine when she saw it.

Professor Juniper and Oshawott became alert when they saw it too. Ash grinded his teeth, the scene was all too familiar, "No…" the auburn-eyed teen mumbled.

On the roof of the laboratory stood 12 figures dressed in black coats with black hoods covering their faces. They all had a different stature, but they all stood menacingly, even though the gang couldn't see their faces; they knew that their attackers were staring at them.

"There's so many of them…" May murmured with a frightened look, she was all too familiar with the group that loomed over them. She recalled the horrible experience Ash, she and her friends had with these men over a week ago, but felt like it had occurred years ago.

_On the middle of the field appeared a figure in a black coat. They were all shocked to see the enigmatic man stand before them, he stood motionlessly in the middle of the field, looking down at the ground, was he responsible for what just happened._

_The man raised his head and looked at everyone there, then let out a laugh. "Sorry for being late," the man's sinister voice echoed in everyone's ears. May and Misty were unsettled by the man, they weren't sure what to expect._

_Ash and Drew frowned at him, giving the man a deadly grin, Roserade and Pikachu got very serious at his presence. They could also sense the man's intentions, they were nothing, but disturbing._

_"You, you've been hiding for so long and now you show your face again, what to do want?" Ash snarled at him aggressively, this man has been a source of his troubling nightmares; he was going to answers now._

_"No!" the black-haired teen yelled with all his might and got between May and the Dragon Pulse. He got hit full on by the Dragon Pulse and all of his Pokémon as well as his friend's Pokémon were shocked. When the dust quickly cleared, Ash was still standing, but his clothes were torn and he had mortal wounds, he got on his knees and dropped on his back._

_"May, if I don't make it…" the boy spoke weakly, but then got cut by May._

_"Ash, don't say that!" May squealed and grabbed his hand as she got on her knees, "No Ash, you can't leave us like you just can't. You mean so much to all of us please, don't go!" The brunette yelled and began crying furious tears. All the Pokémon were crying except for the man's own, Typhlosion, Charizard, Pikachu, Roserade, all of them approached the boy._

_"May, we've had our good and bad times, but even in the worst times I was always thankful that they were there, you changed my life more than anybody. When I first started out my journey I didn't know what love felt like, but that changed when I met you. I want to thank you for that, for giving me a chance at love and even though things didn't go the way I intended them too, I still love you, in a way much greater than that of a friend, I love you for who you are and I never thought of spending my life with anyone, but you, you are the world to me, goodbye May…"_

"What do you want from us, I was beginning to think that we had seen the last of you?" Ash spoke to the enemy violently.

The group of 12 laughed again and then one of them walked in front of the others, this one appeared to be the leader. "That's very impolite, here I thought that we could set our differences aside and become friends." His minions laughed again, the one that had just spoken was the same man who attacked them last time. His voice could be recognized very easily.

"Please just tell us what you want and just go," May tried to be brave and glared at them, but deep down she could feel her greatest fears breaking her.

The man ignored May, "I don't we ever introduced ourselves." The enigmatic man turned his head to his acquaintances and spoke, "Let's show them who we really are." They all nodded at him and all of them dropped their hoods, revealing themselves to the couple.

Ash, May, and Pikachu's eyes widened when the enigmatic figures revealed themselves. These faces brought many memories flashing into the trio's minds. Among the figures dressed in black were Brodie, ex-member of Team Magma, Hunter J, the mercenary from Sinnoh, the Iron-Masked Marauder or Vicious, the man who tried to capture Celebi in Johto, Grings Kodai, the wealthy criminal who tormented Zoroark and Zorua in Sinnoh, Zero, who tried to capture Giratina, Charon from Team Galatic, Annie, one of the girls that tried to capture Latios and Latias in Alto Mare, and Phantom, the pirate that tried to steal the Sea Crown. The others were faces they had never seen before; including the leader's, but it was still a state of shock.

The teenagers stood frozen as all of these faces smiled at them sadistically. "You remember us, don't you Ash?" Hunter J gave the boy a malicious glare.

"What about you brat girl, you foiled my plans when I tried to become King of the Sea," Phantom stared fiercely at May.

"When you destroyed our plans, we lost everything. We became nothing, but prisoners or low-class petty thieves," Brodie spoke to them; the criminal remembered the many times Team Magma's plans were foiled by the meddling kids.

"Until I found them and gave them purpose," the leader spoke. He had a fierce look that gave Ash and his friends' chills down their spines. The man had orange eyes and tanned skin; his eyes were filled with malevolent intent. His hair was silver and long, reaching mid back. His hair had bangs and it was spiky at the top. The man also had a monotone voice as he spoke.

"But how, some of you were even taken to prison in front of my eyes," Ash grinded his teeth.

"Does 'prison break' answer your question punk," Vicious spat at Ash aggressively, still holding a grudge against the young boy.

"You may have grown up and gotten a girlfriend young man, but your still as dim as ever," Charon taunted him and laughed manically.

"Ash, how do you know everyone, aside from Brodie and Phantom?" May asked him with anxious eyes.

The boy looked at her, "I met some of them while traveling in Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh, when I traveled with Misty, Brock, and Dawn. The fact that their plans got thrashed last time hasn't changed their attitudes though. I don't know all of them though." Ash stared at some of the unknown members.

Professor Juniper also appeared frustrated, _how do innocent kids get tied up with crooks like these?_

The leader took notice of this and smiled, "That's right; you don't know some of the others." The orange-eyed menace told the four unknown members to come forward.

The first one to come up was a man around the same age as most of the adults in the villainous group. He had turquoise hair that matched his turquoise eyes, his gaze clearly spelled bad news for the teens as he formed a half-smirk. "His name is Archer," the leader looked at the turquoise-eyed enemy. Archer took a step back as a much younger looking male approached.

"This one is Silver," he introduced the boy who appeared to be slightly older than Ash and May. He also had long, red hair that reached mid-back. Silver gave the teenagers a cold look and chuckled. "His name is Cloud," the man introduced a boy with bright blue eyes and spiky blonde hair. Cloud seemed to be around the same age as Ash and May, but the boy gave the trio a blank look.

Before the leader could introduce the other, the member personally introduced himself. "My name is Genesis," the man spoke with a monotone voice as well. Unlike the others though, his face remained an enigma because he wore a red helmet that completely covered his face, the only thing that was exposed were his gray eyes.

"And I'm Omega. Together we compose the organization known as the Majestic 12!" the leader continued to speak in his monotone voice and extended his arms outward.

Ash quickly got tired of the intros and yelled, "You know what, I stopped caring so I think it's best if you just let us get on our way!"

Omega chuckled at Ash's remark and then became serious, "You're not going anywhere, Genesis, take care of them."

Genesis nodded and jumped from the roof and landed in front of the trio. The gray-eyed man got up from his kneel position and stared at the trio malevolently. Genesis grabbed a Pokeball and threw it, "Rapidash, initiate!"

Ash and May weren't certain if they could win, Genesis appeared to be threatening force, but they had to try. "Pikachu, you're up," Ash commanded and the mouse leaped in front of him.

"Blaziken, help us out!" May threw Blaziken's Pokeball and the Hoenn starter emerged from it.

"Rapidash, use Flare Blitz," the man demanded and the horse rushed towards the duo at a fierce speed.

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle to counter it," Pikachu began running and charging up strength for the electric attack while Rapidash dashed right at him as well.

"Now use Double Team," Genesis calmly instructed and multiple Rapidash appeared using Flare Blitz. When Pikachu used Volt Tackle on the Rapidash in front of him, it turned out to be an illusion.

One of the other Rapidash headed straight for Blaziken. "Blaziken, defend yourself with Blaze Kick!" May told Blaziken to counter. The Blaze Pokémon kicked Rapidash in the face as the Fire Horse clashed with it using Flare Blitz. Blaziken eventually overpowered it, but it turned out to be another illusion.

"Where's the real Rapidash," Ash frowned as Pikachu attacked multiple copies of the horse, but turned out to be copies.

Genesis crossed his arms, "Look up."

The couple looked up and saw Rapidash using Bounce, the horse was aiming for Blaziken. "Blaziken, dodge that!" May yelled out, unsure if Blaziken had enough time.

"Pikachu leap up and stop it with Thunder!" Ash commanded, ready to protect his girlfriend's Pokémon.

"Have it that way," Genesis closed his eyes as he spoke with a calm tone.

Pikachu unleashed a powerful Thunder, but they were amazed when they saw Rapidash break through the electric move with ease and hit Pikachu with its leg, sending the mouse crashing to the ground.

Genesis chuckled, "Now use Inferno on Blaziken!" Rapidash shot out a spiraling stream of blue fire from its horn that aimed for Blaziken.

"Stop it with Flamethrower!" May instructed and her starter released a stream of pure fire.

The two attacks clashed, but luckily Flamethrower over powered Inferno and hit Rapidash. At first May and Ash smiled, thinking that they inflicted a good amount of damage, but when the attack faded Rapidash calmly stood in front of them.

The horse glowed red for a moment and then prepared to charge at its opponents like a bull. "Flash Fire has activated, Rapidash's powers have increased. You're in for it now," Genesis warned his opponents.

"Genesis, finish it off," Omega calmly stated.

Genesis nodded, "Finish this with Overheat. Extinguish all of them!" The man wearing the red helmet commanded.

Ash and May grinded their teeth, they knew that they had to use their most powerful attacks if they wanted to survive this clash. "Pikachu use your most powerful Thunder!" Ash extended his arm to the left.

"Blaziken, you use a full power Overheat!" May extended her arm to the right. The couple smiled at each other momentarily, they were going to overcome this together.

Pikachu released a mighty Thunder that could be on par with Zekrom's while Blaziken released an Overheat that was just as strong. Rapidash's Overheat however, proved to be even more powerful since it broke through and canceled out the combination attack.

Ash, May, Pikachu, Blaziken, Juniper, and Oshawott were all terrified to the very core by this power. None of them knew what to expect now, but suddenly an Aura Sphere came from nowhere that canceled out the Overheat.

"Not again," Omega frowned and searched for the location from which the attack came from.

That's when a Dialga crashed down in front of Ash, May and the others. The Temporal Pokémon roared at the Majestic 12 viciously and used Fire Blast to frighten them.

_Do the surprises ever stop? _May had her jaw opened as she wondered. Ash and the rest of the gang were also at a loss for words.

Dialga roared again and the Majestic 12 stepped back. "We have to retreat; this wasn't part of the plan. Disperse now!" Omega commanded and all members of the Majestic 12 ran into the woods at an incredible speed, the speed of an Arcanine.

Genesis returned Rapidash and opened a portal from nothing. He took a look at the group, "Expect to meet us again," and Genesis walked into the portal, disappearing. Dialga flew after the other members that escaped without looking back at the group it saved.

"May, you saw Dialga too, right?" Ash couldn't believe what just happened.

"I saw it Ash, what was that about?" May tried to get her composure after seeing what just transpired.

"It seems that Dialga arrived just in time to save us, from where, is the question," Professor Juniper was the first to get herself together.

"Do you think someone sent it?" Ash looked at the professor with a puzzled stare.

"May be, but by whom?" Professor Juniper was also unsure.

May looked at the sky and remembered the hero that saved them from the man in black last time, "I think I have an idea, but we don't know who he is."

Ash caught on with what May thought and asked, "You really thought it was that guy again, May?"

The brunette nodded. "Pikachu pi!" the mouse also spoke out of the blue, the Kanto Pokémon agreed with May.

"You agree too, pal?" Ash began to wonder if it really was that person, that guy who appeared to have self-proclaimed himself as their guardian angel.

Professor Juniper spoke to them, "Well it doesn't matter right now. You're all safe and that's what counts."

The group nodded and May spoke to her Blaziken, "Blaziken, you did great out there? Even though we were losing, you held your own. Those guys aren't the average Team Rocket battlers."

"Yeah, Pikachu you did great too. These guys seem to be at a level that matches the Elite Four and Champion, I'm real proud of you," Ash congratulated Pikachu as well. The trainers petted their Pokémon, relieved that all of them remained in one piece.

May returned Blaziken into its Pokeball and Pikachu got on Ash's shoulder. The trio had smiles on their faces. Professor Juniper realized what that smile meant, "So, you guys ready to go this time?"

"Yep, I don't think we'll run into anymore interruptions," Ash confirmed the professor's belief.

"Alright then, you three, be careful okay? Watch out for those people, they seem to be extremely dangerous. I'll notify the police to be on the lookout when I get back in the lab," Professor Juniper informed them, a little worried about their security.

"Thank you professor, we promise to be careful," May assured the older female.

"By the way, the nearest gym and Pokémon contest are held in Striaton City, so you might want to make that your first destination," Professor Juniper also informed them about where to go next.

"Thanks professor, so I guess Striaton City here we come," Ash smiled confidently and looked at May, who followed his lead and grinned just as confidently.

The teenagers and Pikachu now knew where to go next and they also knew that they'd run into the mysterious Majestic 12 again, but unlike the previous times, next time they would be ready. The trio got on their way as they waved goodbye to the professor and Oshawott, who just waved goodbye, but an idea struck the sneaky otter Pokémon.

* * *

Ash, May, and Pikachu found themselves walking through Route 1. "Talk about bad luck for the beginning of a journey, we ran into problems with Team Rocket, Zekrom, and a shadowy organization in one day," May complained.

Ash smiled sheepishly, he wished that they had gotten a smoother start, but what happened, happened. "Don't say that May, I'm sure we'll be luckier tomorrow. It's all over for now, let's just enjoy the calm moment."

May smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek, "This is why I love you," the girl gave him a tender look, making the auburn-eyed boy blush.

All of a sudden, the trio heard rustling among one of the bushes and spot a mysterious figure behind one of them. "Hey, I wonder what that is," May stared at the bush questionably.

"May be it's a Pokémon, let's check," Ash reached for his Pokédex and see what the machine had to say.

"Axew, a Dragon-type Pokémon. Its large tusks have a tendency to break, but each time they grow back, they grow in harder and sturdier." Ash and May analyzed the picture of Axew on their Pokédex; the thing was green and had red eyes.

"Axew huh, it looks strong. I think I'll catch it," Ash smiled and reached for a Pokeball. Just when he was about to throw his Pokeball, his attention was caught by May.

The auburn-eyed teen looked at the frowning sapphire-eyed girl and asked, "What's wrong May?"

"Aren't you going to ask if I want to catch it?" May crossed her arms and glared at him.

Ash, suddenly remember one of the most important rules that existed in a relationship, _ladies first_. The Pallet boy laughed nervously, "I'm sorry May. I guess I just got caught up in the moment. Do you want to catch Axew?"

May smiled at him and squeezed his hand, "No, you catch it Ash; you seem pretty excited about it. Besides, I never really had any intention of catching it; I just wanted to see if you remembered that you have a girlfriend and even though you forgot at first, I love how you were so considerate in the end." The brunette leaned towards him and gave him another quick peck, but on the lips.

Ash smiled at her charmingly, making the brunette giggle. _It's so typical of Ash to forget about the world when it comes to Pokémon, but at least I crossed his mind when he was about to catch Axew. He's still not use to the couple thing, but as we travel through Unova, he'll get used to it, Ash can't stay dense forever, _May giggled again when she thought about how Ash's density regarding couples still hadn't completely faded.

"Alright Axew, you're mine!" Ash threw a Pokeball at the figure, but when it hit, the trio heard what sounded like a girl.

The figure got up and revealed itself, the latter turned out to be a girl. "Hey, what's the big deal?"

Ash, May, and Pikachu were all embarrassed when they figured out that the weird-looking Axew was a girl. "Do I look like a Pokémon to one of you?!" Iris screamed at the trio.

"We're so sorry, it's just that we thought that you looked like an Axew," May explained the reason for the mistake.

"An Axew?" the girl frowned at her. "This is an Axew," the female called out a small, green Pokémon from her hair.

"So that's where Axew was," Ash solved the mystery.

"Yeah, now do you know the difference? I can't believe that you guys thought I was an Axew; you must be a bunch of kids. You have a lot to learn if you're confusing people for Pokémon," the brown-eyed girl teased them a bit. Then the girl's dirty look changed into a nicer looking one, "By the way I'm Iris and you've already met Axew." Iris was around Ash and May's age, she had purple hair that reached to the midsection of her legs and she had bright brown eyes.

"Axew!" the little dragon greeted the group and Iris smiled.

"Hi, I'm May from Petalburg City in the Hoenn Region," the brunette introduced herself.

"And I'm Ash from Pallet Town in Kanto," Ash also introduced himself.

"Wow, you guys live really far from here," Iris crossed her arms, surprised at how far they traveled to get here.

"Yep, and this is Pikachu," Ash introduced his yellow pal.

"Pika," Pikachu smiled at Iris and greeted her.

"A Pikachu, it's so cute!" Iris snatched the mouse and began hugging it to no end. As Iris hugged Pikachu to the point where little sparks started to form on its cheeks, she asked, "So what brings you to Unova?"

"I'm here to compete in the Unova League," Ash answered with an enthusiastic tone.

"And I'm here to compete in the Unova Grand Festival," May answered with the same enthusiastic voice as Ash.

Iris looked at them with amazement, "The Unova League and Grand Festival here are really tough. I'm impressed with the fact that you're willing to compete in competitions that strenuous."

Ash and May smiled while bobbing their heads. _I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not_, May wondered, but decided to just take it as one.

_If the Unova League is as tough as everyone says it is, then I definitely can't wait to compete in it_! Ash was in his own world as well.

"I still can't believe how cute you are, I can just eat you up," Iris continued squeezing Pikachu until the mouse Pokémon could no longer take it anymore and shocked her, in the process he also shocked Axew because the dragon remained in her hair.

Iris let go of Pikachu, who ran up to get on Ash's shoulders. "It's strong too," the girl smiled with a silly expression.

"Ax…" the Dragon-type agreed with its master, still suffering a bit from the electricity.

Ash and May laughed at the silly sight while Pikachu just crossed his arms, he never did like it when people treated him like a stuffed teddy bear.

The trio walked with Iris as they talked about how Ash and May's arrival was. The couple decided to leave out the details concerning Team Rocket and the Majestic 12; they only talked about the cloud they came across.

"You ran into trouble with a dark cloud, what's that like?" Iris raised an eyebrow, confused by the statement.

"It wasn't exactly a cloud, Professor Juniper told us it was Zekrom that lurked inside the cloud," May tried to clear up the explanation for Iris.

Iris clasped her hands together, "Oh wow, you saw Zekrom. Please tell me what that was like. Back in the Village of the Dragons, Zekrom is very scared to us!"

"We didn't really see Zekrom, the image was too vague, but it did give us a lot of trouble. It somehow managed to disable Pikachu's ability to use electric attacks and then it was responsible for a discharge in Professor Juniper's room that left it in a mess." Ash recollected everything that dealt with Zekrom.

"Well, I'm sure it happened for a reason," Iris assured them that Zekrom meant no harm.

"Hey look!" May pointed and ran in front of Ash and Iris.

"Hey May, wait up!" Ash ran after her with Pikachu on his shoulder, wondering what May saw.

"I guess I have to go with them," Iris followed them with Axew popping out of her hair.

When the gang finally arrived at the spot May was pointing at, they spotted multiple deer-like Pokémon. May reached for her Pokédex, "I wonder what Pokémon is this."

The screen of her white Pokédex showed a deer that was mostly pink with a cream-colored underside and a floral tuft on its head. "Deerling, a Grass-type Pokémon. Their coloring changes according to the seasons and can be slightly affected by the temperature and humidity as well."

"That sounds interesting. I bet Deerling could be a useful partner for my contests. I think I'll catch it," May grinned confidently and threw a Pokeball. "Go Pokeball!"

"May wait," Ash had gotten so caught up staring at Deerling that he forgot to remind May to weaken one first.

May's Pokeball hit a Deerling and the Season Pokémon became trapped inside. "Gotcha," May grinned, but then Deerling quickly popped back again.

Iris stood behind her and reminded her, "May, you have to weaken Deerling first if you want to capture, how could you forget that?"

May laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head like Ash would do, "Right, I got overexcited. Here, let me try again."

"Tepig, I need you," May released her Unova starter and the pig-like Pokémon appeared with a joyful grin.

"Tepig, I need you to use Ember on Deerling," May commanded and the Fire-type released a fiery ash-like attack that aimed for Deerling.

When the other Deerling took notice of Tepig, they began panicking and escaped in large numbers. "Hey wait, I want to catch one too!" Ash stood in front of the Deerling in an attempt to stop them, but only got trampled over.

"Pretty stars," was the only Ash got get out of his mouth as he lay on the ground after getting stepped on.

Iris face-palmed herself, "He's such a kid."

The Deerling, May attacked had no choice, but to stick around and fight. "Tepig use Tackle!" May demanded and her Pokémon nodded, charging towards Deerling.

The Season Pokémon used Sand-Attack and blinded the pig. After blinding Tepig, Deerling proceeded to using Double Kick on Tepig. Deerling used its hind legs to send Tepig flying against a tree.

"Oh no, Tepig please get up," May begged the pig Pokémon to get up.

Deerling charged at it with an all-out Tackle. Tepig also dashed at it with its own Tackle and they resembled bullets aiming at each other. The pair built up more speed to use against each other and May was uncertain with how to proceed then an idea struck her, "Tepig, sidestep!"

Tepig moved to the left and avoided Deerling's Tackle just in time, catching the pink Pokémon by surprise. Deerling was no longer able to control its speed and crashed into a tree. "This is your chance Tepig, use Ember!" the sapphire-eyed girl smiled and made her final command.

Tepig released Ember, hitting Deerling head on and weakening the Season Pokémon. Deerling struggled to get up after being burnt and running into a tree. "May, now's your chance!" Ash yelled. The boy had finally gotten his composure after being trampled.

May nodded at him, she knew what to do, "Right, go Pokeball!" The coordinator threw the red and white Pokeball at Deerling and the deer-like Pokémon was captured in it. For a few moments the ball shook sideways continuously until it finally stopped and made the sound that assured the trainer that the Pokémon had been caught.

May picked up the Pokeball and cheered, "Yay! I caught a Deerling!" May showed her new Pokémon in a style similar to Ash. Then she winked at Tepig, "It was all thanks to you Tepig!" The fire starter blushed when she thanked him and the brunette returned him.

"Way to go May, you caught your first Pokémon in Unova," Ash walked up to her with a smile. The black-haired teen leaned in to kiss her on the cheek and hugged her.

The Hoenn girl returned the hug, "Thank you Ash, but I got that kind of experience from you." The two separated and the brunette gave her a wink, Ash also returned the wink.

"Awww," Iris smiled from a distance, admiring the adorable love between the two, now Iris acknowledged the relationship between the two. She also had more respect for May, having caught Deerling with such clever tactics.

All of a sudden, the stomachs of the lovers grumbled and the two blushed at the simultaneous grumbling. "Guess we're both hungry," May giggled and Ash gave her a sheepish smile. Pikachu laughed at how similar his friends' attitudes regarding food were.

"I'm on it," Iris informed them with a bright grin.

* * *

That sunset, Iris had taken the trio to an area nearby where there were plenty of apple trees. Ash, May, and Pikachu stood under a large tree with the most apples. Ash tried to reach for some, but they were too high, "It's too high!" The boy jumped up and down continuously.

"Try climbing it," May suggested.

The boy nodded, but before he could, a bunch of apples dropped down on the trio. Iris jumped down from the tree with a grin, "Dinner is served!"

"Oh goodie," May glared as she felt the apples squashing her, Ash and Pikachu. She felt a little aggravated because now her hair messed up, but when she noticed the abundant amount of apples, her eyes glistened along with Ash and grabbed as many delicious-looking apples as possible.

Iris just stared at them strangely with Axew and Pikachu. "Pikachu, are they always like this?"

"Pi," the mouse nodded at Iris, _more than you think_.

**Later that night...**

They got together by the campfire that Ash had built, Iris decided to just stay on the tree branch and talk to them from there. "So, tell me what made you guys decide what you wanted to be in life," Iris spoke to her friends.

May was the first to speak, "I didn't really like battling or Pokémon when I first started my journey, but when I started traveling with Ash, we went everyone and one day we attended a Pokémon Contest. When I saw the presentations and unique battling styles of all those people, I knew that I wanted to become a coordinator. You remember, right Ash?" the brunette looked at her boyfriend.

"Yep, it became obvious the moment the contest started and can I say that you've become very good at it," Ash placed his arm around May and brought her closer.

"Awww, thank you Ashy," the sapphire-eyed girl giggled and placed her head on his shoulder.

Iris smiled at their love again, she didn't mind seeing them display their affection like Max, she always dreamt about seeing love like that in reality. "What about you Ash," Iris asked Ash about how he decided what he wanted to be.

"My dream of becoming a Pokémon Master has been around for as long as I can remember, I wasn't the only one though. All the kids in my town dreamt about being the strongest and becoming Pokémon Masters, but what inspired me the most was my dad," Ash spoke gently until he said "dad", which seemed to make him slightly uncomfortable.

"He was the most powerful guy I had ever known in my entire childhood. He traveled everywhere, he beat the Elite Four and Champion of at least four regions from what my mom use to tell me," Ash talked a little bit more about his father.

"Where is he now?" Iris asked him. May on the other hand always questioned if Ash ever had a father, he never talked about it with Ash out of respect. Once she had a personal conversation about it with Brock, the former gym leader told her it was best if she never brought it up in his life.

She followed Brock's advice and never did; she was shocked to hear that Ash decided to talk about right now. Ash looked at Iris and then at May, "I don't know," the raven-haired teen responded with a blank look on his face.

Iris caught on and saw that the subject was making Ash uncomfortable. May was tempted to ask Ash more about his father, but thought it was best not to, it seemed like a sensitive topic to the boy. Pikachu and Axew had fallen asleep during the whole conversation so there was no reaction from them.

"So Iris, what made you decide that you want to become a Dragon Master?" Ash asked the purple-haired girl with a smile forming on his face again.

"Well, there's this guy that visited my village once. He's the Gym Leader of Opelucid City, his name is Drayden. When he visited my village, he talked to all the children about the wonders of Dragon-type Pokémon and how they are involved in many things. He even showed us his most powerful Pokémon, after hearing so many things about dragons, from their power to how they're involved in mythology, I decided that I wanted to learn the ways of the dragon and become a Dragon Master," Iris gave a detailed explanation about how she came to the decision of becoming a Dragon Master.

"That's a really humble beginning Iris," May grinned at the girl, she always wondered what life in villages were like.

"Thanks May," Iris smirked at the brunette in a friendly fashion.

"So, now tell me how you guys became a couple," Iris brought up another topic.

Ash and May blushed and recalled all the moments they shared that ultimately led up to them becoming a couple. "I guess we can start by telling you about how we met," Ash told Iris.

"It was the first day of Pokémon journey and I was just going to fetch my starter Pokémon. On the way I ran into the professor, who had run into trouble with some Poochyena and once we fixed that problem we went in search of Ash, but I still hadn't met him yet. When I saw how much he was struggling to keep Pikachu safe, I couldn't help but feel sorry. Pikachu bit him and I still remember Ash screaming because of the pain. Soon after we got into trouble with some crooks known as Team Rocket that tried to capture Pikachu, but Pikachu packed a Thunderbolt that sent them flying however, my bike did get destroyed in the process." May turned to Ash and gave him a quick glare, which provoked the boy to smile guiltily.

"So since my bike was destroyed and I really wasn't comfortable walking alone, Ash offered me to travel with him because he is such a sweetheart," May winked at him and the couple laughed. "That's how we started traveling, and then there was this other guy named Drew."

For almost half an hour May and Ash took turns blabbering about the events that occurred that caused them to fall in love with each other and in the end caused them to become a couple. "As soon as I woke up I kissed May without saying a word, that's when we officially became a couple," Ash finished the story and turned to Iris, who had apparently fallen asleep sometime during the story.

Ash and May sighed at the sight, but then grinned at each other. They decided to lie on the grass; May placed her head on Ash's chest along with her arms and embraced the boy. Ash had one arm behind his back and the other one wrapped around May's waist, his head leaned on May's head for support.

"Hey Ash, I have a question for you," the sapphire-colored coordinator spoke to Ash.

"Yeah May," the boy looked at her with his sweet eyes.

"Why do you love me?" May questioned him as her eyes shined with anticipation for an answer.

"I guess it's because you're different from all the other girls I've ever met in my life. When I traveled with Misty, I didn't understand love too much and it didn't help when she hit me whenever she got furious about something. When I started my journey, I was only a kid that focused on Pokémon so I didn't have time to understand love whenever Misty or Brock tried to explain it. When I traveled with Dawn, I still hadn't fully acknowledged what love was, but I knew more somehow. Nonetheless, I felt that what Dawn and I had, was more of a sibling thing; we just looked out for each other. Besides, I would be too caught up with the Sinnoh League and battling Paul to notice Dawn or any other girl," Ash recalled the various moments in his journeys in Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh when his knowledge on love came to question.

May continued to look Ash, her question hadn't been answered, but the boy hadn't finished talking, "With you though, it was different. For starters I didn't have a rival like Gary or Paul in Hoenn and it was up to me to guide you during our journey because unlike, Misty or Dawn, you were unsure about what to focus on. You didn't want to be a Pokémon Trainer and you didn't like Pokémon, I guess it seemed like you were lost. As I guided you, I noticed a lot of things about you that I hadn't seen or may be realized when I traveled with Dawn and Misty, like the fact that you cared about your brother more than anything. Even though Max is your brother, you acted more like his mother, you looked out for him when he grew attached to Jirachi and you were willing to give up the Pacifidlog Town contest just to keep your promise that you'd keep Max safe. I had never met someone who would take that kind of plunge. I felt like I was falling for you even more when we met Manaphy, you were its mother. You nurtured it, you gave it the affection it deserved, when it was in danger I could only feel my heartbreak because I couldn't stand to see you in pain, it was like a mother losing her child. The best way I can explain this May, is that on a subconscious level, you were always my priority."

May was unable to speak, she felt like her heart was clogged in her throat, the only thing she saw that could express her emotions for Ash were by placing her face above his and kiss him with all her passion. She caressed his cheeks with her hands, but she didn't tongue kiss him this; this was one of those kisses where it was serious. Ash ran his fingers through her hair and caressed her cheek with his other hand as they kissed.

The two eventually split apart from some air, but their eyes caught each other. Ash stared into her sapphire eyes that shined marvelously under the moon, he felt like he was melting bit by bit as he stared into them. May felt a warm, tender feeling heating her up on the inside as she stared into his auburn eyes; they were inexplicably beautiful to her.

"Ash, I love you more than anything, I don't ever want to lose you. Please promise that no matter what happens in the future that our connection will never break, I don't know what I would do without you."

Ash saw that tears streamed down May's face, he understood where those tears were coming from. She feared the feeling of living a life without him; she couldn't afford to lose the most important thing in her existence. He sat up and placed her head on his chest when she continued talking, "When I thought you died that day in Pallet Town, when Omega cornered us. I felt like my heart and world had shattered into glass, everything felt cold and everything appeared dark. I knew then that I was in love with you because no one feels like that for no reason. That feeling only comes when you have entrusted the person with everything about you, that person that's always believed in when nobody else did, that person who is willing to place your life before his, a person who makes you their priority." The brunette looked up at her lover with glistening, loving, and innocent sapphires.

"May…I promise that I will never leave you. I'll stick with you through the best and the worst, you're not just my friend, you're not just my girlfriend, you're also the thing that hold dearest in my heart and I feel like I would collapse without you. We share a bond that is unbreakable, a bond based on love, I won't ever let that bond split, it's the promise I'll keep till the time when it's time for me to go." May sniffled and pushed his head toward her lips, she placed both her hands on the back of his head while Ash caressed her cheeks, wiping away the tears and filling her heart with love.

From a bush, a noisy little water Pokémon had seen it all. "Oshaaawott…" the starter's glistened with admiration; it was true love what he was watching.

* * *

**Morning...**

The sun shined brightly over Unova as Ash slowly got up. He took a look at May, who lay peacefully next to him. After their passionate moment, they had gotten sleeping bags, but May decided to share hers with Ash and she kept insisting that they share, so for the rest of the night May clung on to him and so did he.

Ash rubbed his eyes and saw that the fire had completely worn out. He looked around and only saw Pikachu sleeping in his tiny sleeping bag. "Where's Iris?" the boy questioned himself.

He figured she must have gone off somewhere, so he decided it was time to wake up May and Pikachu as well. "Hey May, time to wake up," the boy nudged the girl, but slapped his hand.

Ash sighed, _maybe this will work_. The boy leaned in and kissed her; he let his tongue go into May's mouth and tickled the roof of her mouth. The girl giggled and opened her eyes to see her boyfriend kissing her.

"About time you woke up sleeping beauty," Ash separated from her lips and grinned at her.

"You know you enjoyed it. Besides, I was actually waiting to see how you'd wake me up. I didn't expect you to kiss me on the lips, you're becoming quite the romantic Ashy," May winked at him and giggled.

May sat up and looked around, "Hey where'd Iris go?"

"I don't know, but she couldn't have gone far," Ash stated.

"Well, in the meantime we'll bathe by some nearby lake and have breakfast," the brunette said with ease in her voice.

Ash blushed and became uncomfortable, "You want to bathe together?"

May looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "I don't know about you, but I don't think we're ready for that." The girl gave him a grin after saying that.

Ash let out a sigh of relief, "Good, cause I'm not really comfortable with that yet," the boy gave her a sheepish smile.

"Don't worry Ash, the time will come," May got up and giggled.

Ash nodded with a smile until he realized what he just nodded at, "Wait what?!"

May giggled and ran off to the lake that was nearby, "I'm kidding Ash. I'll see you later."

The raven-haired teen got up and frowned, but then he sighed and formed a grin across his face, "Someone's in a playful mood this morning."

**After bathing and breakfast…**

Ash, May and Pikachu were back on the road, but Iris hadn't shown up. "You think Iris will eventually show up?" May asked, showing concern for their new friend.

"I don't know, she seems like a pretty unpredictable person," the black-haired teen responded.

"Kind of like you," May laughed and grabbed her boyfriend's hand to show that she's just being playful.

The boy squeezed her hand as a sign of affection. "Pikachu, do you hear or smell Iris to know if she's nearby?" Ash asked his best friend.

"Pi," the mouse shook his head sideways.

Ash wondered where Iris could have gone until his mind was caught by something else, "Hey look May," the boy pointed to a small bird flying over them.

The bird was mainly gray and had large oval eyes with golden irises. It had a short, black beak, with a bulbous pink cere. The bird heavily resembled a pigeon.

"Let's follow it," Ash said excitedly and pulled May as they ran after the flying bird.

When they reached the spot where the bird landed, they found many more. "Who's that Pokémon?" Ash wondered and took out his Pokédex for an answer.

"Pidove, the Flying-type Pokémon. This very forgetful Pokémon will wait for a new order from its trainer even though it already has one," Ash gave the machine a dismayed look.

"That didn't help much, but I'll catch Pidove anyway!" Ash cheerfully announced.

"Go for it Ash," May encouraged her boyfriend and beamed him a smile.

"Aren't you going to catch one May?" the boy asked her.

"I already caught Deerling, so I don't find necessary. It's your turn to catch your first Unova Pokémon, Ash," May continued to beam a smile at him.

Ash nodded as a thank you and prepared to catch a Pidove. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" The boy pointed towards one of the Pidove and Pikachu shocked it.

The Pidove dropped to the ground in pain after being hit. Ash reached for a Pokeball, "Great, time for me to catch it," but before Ash could, the entire flock ganged up on him.

The entire flock used Air Cutter on Ash and distracted the boy, giving all of them a chance to escape. May sighed as she saw all of the Pidove leave, "Come on Ash, you can catch one, I know you can!"

Ash frowned and saw that all the Pidove were gone; "They all got away," the boy looked down at the ground in disappointment.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled out and pointed at one Pidove that had remained on the pasture.

"Yes, way to go pal, we're catching this one for sure," Ash declared proudly while May smiled at one of the things that made Ash, Ash, his unwillingness to give up.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded and the mouse rushed at full speed towards Pidove.

Pidove noticed the incoming attack just in time and dodged it. "Quick, don't let it get away, use Thunderbolt!" Ash extended his arm forward.

Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity that hit Pidove directly. The bird squealed in pain, but shrugged it off and used Air Cutter. The mouse barely managed to dodge the incoming barrage of Air Cutter, but was caught off guard when a strong gust sent him flying.

"Amazing, it's strong and fast," Ash admired the Pidove's extraordinary battling capabilities. "Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Ash demanded and the mouse leapt into the air to hit the bird.

Pidove quickly dodged it with a variation of Quick Attack and prepared to attack Pikachu from the side. "Quick Pikachu, use Iron Tail again to defend yourself!" Pikachu again, turned his tail into iron and sent Pidove flying.

The pigeon Pokémon managed to get its composure and used a full power Air Cutter. "Ok Pikachu, jump on top of every Air Cutter, Pidove releases and get close enough to use Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu did just that and jumped from one Air Cutter to another until he got close enough to use Volt Tackle. The mouse charged up enough power to hit Pidove directly and sent the bird crashing against the dirt.

"Perfect," Ash smiled and got his Pokeball. The boy turned his hat around and threw the Pokeball, "Go Pokeball!"

The Pokeball captured Pidove inside and the ball shook sideways for several moments. Ash stared at the ball intensely until the ball stopped moving and made the usual noise when a Pokémon was caught.

Ash formed a smile on his face and extended his arm upward with the Pokeball in his hand. "Alright, I caught my first Unova Pokémon!" Pikachu leapt in front of him to further show the happiness of the moment.

May approached him and hugged the boy, "You did it Ash. You caught Pidove."

"Yep, thanks for your support earlier, May," the auburn-eyed teen grinned at him and held her in his arms.

"Hey that wasn't bad," Iris dropped from a tree and congratulated Ash. "Of course, that was just a Pidove."

"It doesn't matter, I caught Pidove and it's mine now," the boy smiled at the Pokeball.

Suddenly, two long mechanical arms reached for Pikachu and Axew. "Hey, what's the big idea?" Iris turned around and saw the Team Rocket trio using a contraption holding Pikachu and Axew.

"You again?" Ash grinded his teeth when he saw Team Rocket.

"Again, is the question? So twerpish indeed!" Jessie was the first to speak.

"The answer to come as we feel the need!" James followed up.

"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!" Jessie posed and swung her arm violently.

"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!" James also swung his arm in a violent fashion.

"Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!" Meowth used his claws to cut through the air.

"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!" Jessie proclaimed.

"And wit," James was about to declare, but was interrupted.

"I don't care who you are, give me back Axew!" Iris yelled at them with a demanding voice.

"Why, how dare you interrupt our motto?" James glared at Iris intensely.

"I've heard enough about you guys from the news, your Team Rocket. You've caused enough trouble around here, so give me Axew and get lost!" Iris spat at them again.

"Wait, Iris. Team Rocket has been here before?" Ash asked the purple-haired girl.

"Yes, they've been around for a few months causing trouble," Iris explained to them about her prior knowledge regarding the Rockets.

May frowned at them, "So now you pop up wherever you feel like?"

"We have business here twerpette, stay out of it," Meowth warned May.

Iris gasped when she realized that the Meowth could talk, "Wait, you can talk?"

"Of course I can, I have such a brilliant mind that I am able to talk," Meowth spoke arrogantly about himself.

"Whatever, Pidove rescue Pikachu and Axew," Ash summoned his Flying-type.

"Deerling, you do the same!" May also released her Grass-type Pokémon for battle.

"Bring it on!" Meowth declare and leapt onto the battlefield.

"Pidove, use Quick Attack!" Ash demanded and Pidove hit Meowth fast enough to prevent the cat from attacking.

"Deerling, you use Double Kick!" May commanded.

Before Meowth could get up, Deerling sent him flying with a Double Kick. The cat Pokémon landed in front of Jessie and James, "You know what? You guys can take it from here." Meowth clearly was unable to battle from the look on his face.

"Alright, go Woobat!" Jessie released her new Unova Pokémon.

Ash and May would've taken out their Pokédex to see what Pokémon is that, but there was obviously no time.

"Quick, Pidove use Air Cutter!" Ash called out.

"Dodge that Woobat and show them a real Air Cutter!" Jessie retaliated. Woobat swiftly dodged the Air Cutter and used a much stronger version that sent Pidove and Deerling flying.

May stared at Team Rocket angrily; Pidove and Deerling were unable to battle. "Bub-bye now," Jessie laughed with an evil tone.

"Ta ta," James waved goodbye, smiling at the group as they escaped in a new balloon with the Team Rocket insignia.

"Not so fast," Ash ran up to a tree and climbed all the way to the top. From there the boy jumped toward the balloon, but was unable to reach it and fell back. The boy held on to a tree branch to smoothen the fall and dropped from there.

The three teens gave Team Rocket dirty looks, as the crooks stuck out their tongues at the young trio. All of a sudden, a shell shot through the balloon and sent the Rockets crashing down. In the process, Pikachu and Axew jumped off and fell into the arms of their respective trainers. They all look to see where the shell came from and see an otter Pokémon standing proudly while holding its shell.

"Oshawott," the Unova starter grinned slyly.

"When will you kids learn to give up? Woobat, use Air Slash!" Jessie now looked upset and called for her Pokémon.

Pikachu and Axew tried to counter Woobat, but the blue spirals came at them too fast and were unable to fight back. Oshawott stood in front of the group and glared at Team Rocket, "Osha oshawott!"

"Scram kid!" Meowth demanded aggressively.

Oshawott frowned at the cat and used Water Gun against Team Rocket, including Woobat and sent them crashing against their machinery, causing an explosion. "Pikachu, send them flying with Volt Tackle!" Ash instructed, but when Pikachu shot through the cloud of smoke, there was nothing.

They look up and see Team Rocket flying off on jetpacks, into the distance. "They got away," Iris stated in disappointment, she wished they could've been brought to justice.

"Ash, we have to take our Pokémon to the nearest Pokémon Center," May told her boyfriend in a worried voice.

"Right," Ash nodded and rushed off with the group. As they ran they yelled out thank you to Oshawott, especially Ash, "Thanks a lot Oshawott, we really owe you one!"

Oshawott gave the group a puzzled look as he stood there alone.

* * *

When they finally arrived at the Pokémon Center, they were surprised to find a Nurse Joy that looked very different from the one Ash and May, were use to, but there was no time for thinking about stuff like that and pleaded the nurse to heal their Pokémon.

Nurse Joy placed Pikachu and the Pokeballs in a machine that operated by another new Pokémon. "Audino, use Heal Pulse," Nurse Joy calmly instructed.

Heal Pulse was transferred to the machine, which then showered all the Pokémon with a mystical energy. The trio of teenagers admired the working of the Audino; they had never really seen a Nurse Joy heal Pokémon in front of them before.

When Audino finished, Nurse Joy released all the Pokémon and smiled, "All done." Pidove, Pikachu, Axew, and Deerling all felt refreshed after being healed. Pikachu leapt into Ash's arms and hugged his trainer.

"Glad to see you're ok buddy," Ash smiled in relief.

May and Iris also happily embraced their Pokémon as everyone in the room displayed joyous faces. "You know, with trainers as caring as you three, I'm sure your Pokémon will grow extremely well. Feel free to stop by a Pokémon Center whenever you need to."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Iris grinned at the pink-haired nurse.

Something then crossed May's mind, "Hey, you know without Oshawott we probably wouldn't have retrieved our Pokémon."

Ash remembered Oshawott's heroic deed from earlier and spoke, "Yeah, we were in such a rush that we never got to thank him properly, but I'm still grateful for his help. He saved our Pokémon from Team Rocket," the boy spoke fondly of the valiant Oshawott.

May and Iris nodded in agreement, but little did they know that the little Water-type Pokémon was watching them from a window, smiling at them. "Oshawott!" the otter Pokémon embraced itself in a personal hug.

**That was a really long chapter I know, I'm sorry. I'll try to figure this out problem for future chapters, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. As for the questions I got from some of you guys. Ash will get all the Pokémon he has from the anime, but he won't get any additional Pokémon and I will only follow episodes that contain major elements such as any episode where Ash gets a new Pokémon. Don't expect every episode from the series to be followed. I will also contact the people who volunteered to help with that Serebii soon, as soon as I find time to do so lol. Well I'll catch ya guys soon, Chapter 3 will be up pretty soon too. **


	3. Sandile by the Mile

Chapter 3: Young, Wild, and Free

"Alright Blaziken, show Tepig how to use Flamethrower one more time! Deerling, you try to dodge whatever attack Tepig and Blaziken use against you!" May instructed her Pokémon during a training session.

Blaziken was trying to teach Tepig, Flamethrower since May knows Flamethrower is a move that could come in handy when participating in contests. Blaziken released a stream of fire aiming for Deerling and Tepig followed its example.

Tepig leaped up and tried to use Flamethrower, "Tepig!" Unfortunately, all that came out was an ember-like fire. May and Blaziken sighed at the failed attempt, Tepig had already messed up Flamethrower numerous times and there seemed to be no progress.

Deerling dodged the Flamethrower and released an Energy Ball. "Blaziken, you know what to do," May spoke calmly.

Blaziken used a Fire Spin that encircled the Energy Ball. From there, the Fire Spin carried the Energy Ball away from Blaziken and swirled upward. Fire Spin contained the Energy Ball and the combination looked like a fiery tornado with a green Energy Ball that served as the eye of the tornado. The luminous light reflection of the Energy Ball mixed with the radiance given off by the fire caused green rays to emerge from the tornado's spirals.

Ash, Iris, Pikachu, Blaziken, Tepig, and Deerling stared at the combination with awe. It was a bright green light with fire revolving it until the brilliant tornado suddenly burst. Little shimmering sparkles showered down on the group and May took a bow.

"Good job guys," May approached her three Pokémon and petted them.

"Teeepig," Tepig looked down at the ground shamefully.

May gave the starter a caring smile, "Don't worry Tepig, you'll get it right eventually, I know it!" The encouragement put a smile on the pig and leaped into May's arms.

"May is a fantastic coordinator," Iris complimented May's abilities, still impressed by the demonstration.

"She's been doing this for as long as I can remember. She's a Top Coordinator, so that just shows you how talented May really is," Ash admired his girlfriend; May had become one of the finest coordinators Ash has ever met.

"She's so skilled, not to mention much more mature than you," Iris continued talking and then gave Ash a sly grin.

Ash glared at his companion, "Oh yeah, look who's talking!"

"I'm talking!" Iris got up and spat at him.

"Why did you even decide to come along with us if you're just going to argue? I don't remember offering you to join us!" Ash got up and yelled back at her.

Iris placed her hands on her hip and gave the boy an even dirtier look, "You should actually be thanking me because I know my way around Unova, if it weren't for me then you would have ended up lost!"

"Pika pika," Pikachu pulled on Ash's jeans in an attempt to stop him from arguing.

May sighed and walked over to the duo, "Come on guys, can't we all just get along? We were getting along so well."

"Pika pikachu," Pikachu begged his trainer to stop fighting as well.

Ash and Iris continued to glare at each other until a familiar sound was heard. When they heard "Oshaaawott," the entire group turned behind them and saw the water Pokémon smiling at them.

"Hey, it's the Oshawott that saved our Pokémon from Team Rocket," Iris pointed out.

The otter-like Pokémon grinned cheerfully, recalling their last encounter. May beamed a smile at it after realizing it, "It is!"

"Let's try to learn a bit more about it," Ash happily took out his Pokédex to learn a bit more about the Unova Pokémon.

"Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokémon. Oshawott attacks and defends using the scalchop that can be removed from its stomach." Ash put away his Pokédex and grinned at the Water-type Pokémon.

"So, what brings you here Oshawott?" Ash asked the little thing with a friendly attitude.

"Osha oshawott oshaw," Oshawott moved his arms around while he attempted to explain himself.

"Pika pi, pikachu pika," Pikachu conversed with Oshawott from Ash's shoulder.

Ash lowered down so he could speak to Oshawott, "So, you were following us huh?"

Oshawott nodded and smiled joyfully. "That's so cute!" May picked up the round-headed Pokémon and squeezed it with a hug. The brunette poked its cheeks, which clearly upset it and leaped out of her arms in annoyance.

"Oshawott, osha," Oshawott climbed up Ash and got on his shoulder, pushing Pikachu off in the process.

The irritated mouse glared at Oshawott as its cheeks began to spark. Oshawott dropped to the ground and stared at it with confusion. "Pikachu!" The mouse yelled and let out a Thunderbolt, but Oshawott wasted no time in reflecting it with its scalchop.

The electricity bounced off the shell and aimed for Ash. Pikachu's Thunderbolt shocked the boy and left him crisp. "You gotta love that Thunderbolt," Ash formed a weak smile and dropped on the ground.

May and Iris broke into laughter as they saw the roasted boy drop like a rock. Pikachu rubbed his head, embarrassed at the result while May's Pokémon remained confused by the scenario.

Oshawott approached the boy and gave him a sorry look. "Oshaaaawott," the starter gave Ash an apologetic look.

Ash sat up and then got his legs. An idea sparked in the boy's head, "Hey Oshawott, why don't you come with us?"

The Water-type jumped up and down in joy. "I'll take that as a yes," Ash smiled at the little guy, but before he could someone else had other plans.

"Go Pokeball!" Iris stated and surprised everyone. When Oshawott realized what was going on, he shot the ball back with Water Gun and the Pokeball hit Iris in the face.

May wondered about the exchange between the two and came to a conclusion, "Iris, I think it wants Ash to catch it."

Iris sighed as she rubbed her face. Ash grinned back at Oshawott, "That true, Oshawott?"

The Pokémon nodded and the boy still had a smile dancing across his face. "Alright, go Pokeball!" the boy threw the Pokeball, but to everyone's surprise, Oshawott didn't go in.

"It didn't go in," Ash looked at his Pokeball with a perplexed expression.

"Maybe it already has Pokeball," Iris suggested a reason.

"Hmmm," May placed her finger on her chin and wondered. The sapphire-eyed girl looked at the Oshawott and snapped her fingers, "Hey Ash, don't you think this might be Professor Juniper's Oshawott?"

Ash rubbed chin, "That's a thought. We should probably give her a call and ask."

Everyone agreed and they got on their way. The group managed to find a Pokemart with a phone, so they wasted no time in dialing the professor's number. "Hello kids, what can I help you with?" Professor Juniper smiled when she realized that it was Ash and his friends.

"Hi professor, we were just calling you to ask if this is your Oshawott," Ash stated and May picked up the small Pokémon to show the woman.

"Oh thank goodness you found him, I've looked around for him, but turns out he had gone after you guys," Professor Juniper let out a sigh of relief and then laughed.

"Great, do you want us to send him back?" May questioned the green-eyed woman politely about Oshawott.

Professor Juniper thought about it for a second, but then shook her head sideways. "Actually, I want you to take care of it Ash? He's yours now, are you up for it?"

Ash smiled excitedly, "Sure am!"

"Excellent, I'll send you Oshawott's Pokeball right now," Professor Juniper informed him and Ash turned to the machine next to them. The contraption shot out a ray of light that faded and revealed a Pokémon.

Ash picked up the Pokeball, "Thank you professor. I promise I'll that good care of him."

"I am sure you will, just be careful though, Oshawott tends to disappear without a trace most of the time. For now this is goodbye kids, talk to you soon," Professor Juniper recommended and waved goodbye with her usual beaming smirk.

The kids waved goodbye until the screen turned black. Iris turned around and her eyes widened, "Hey guys, where did Oshawott go?" The Unova girl remembered that he was right behind them before they called the professor.

"Uh oh," May realized how critical the situation had gotten.

Ash let out a sigh, "Come on, we have to find it." The trio and Pikachu ran out of the store in a hurry, looking everywhere for the playful otter. Ash ran around the whole zone, searching behind every nearby tree and bush until May and Iris appeared behind him.

"You know Ash, I could help if want?" Iris suggested.

Ash felt his pride swell up inside him, he already knew his response, "No thanks, I'll look for him on my own."

May placed her hands on hips and glared at the boy. "Oh come on Ash, can't you swallow your pride for a moment and let us help? Iris and Pikachu are your friends and I'm your girlfriend, so it's obviously the correct thing to do if we help you look for Oshawott."

The boy gave the brunette apologetic eyes. May made a point; he had to stop putting his pride before his friends, especially his love. It wasn't the right thing to do. "You're right May. I'm sorry you guys," Ash gave Iris, May, and Pikachu a shamefaced grin.

"Now come on then," May smiled at her boyfriend. She loved it when he came to his senses after doing something wrong because it just showed how much Ash cared about others. The brunette reached for his hand and they ran together while Iris and Pikachu ran after them.

Suddenly, they all dropped into a pit that been placed in the middle of the road. "What gives," Iris held her head after crashing down with the others.

"I wonder if it's another one of Team Rocket's booby traps," Ash groaned, recounting the many times he had fallen into their pits.

"When I get my hands on them, I'm going to," May threatened the Rockets, but she was interrupted by another voice.

"Actually, this is Sandile's doing," a boy looking down at them mentioned.

"Sandile?" Ash asked with a baffled look.

"I'll explain soon enough, here, grab on to this," the brown-haired kid threw a rope at Ash and his friends, which they held on to.

The four of them were pulled up and stood on the ground again. "Thanks, ummmm," Iris tried to thank the boy, but didn't know his name.

"Dan," Dan smiled and introduced himself.

"Hey there, I'm Ash and these are my friends May, Iris, and Pikachu," the raven-haired teen introduced the whole group.

"Hello," May greeted the boy happily.

"Nice to meet you," Dan grinned at them.

"So, what were you telling us earlier about a Sandile?" Ash asked the younger male.

"Oh that's right, you fell into a pit made by Sandile," Dan informed them.

May reached for her Pokédex to see what the machine had to say, "Sandile, the Desert Croc Pokémon. A dark membrane protects its eyes from the sun, and it buries itself in the sand with its eyes and nose sticking out."

"That's a mischievous-looking Pokémon," May said as she put away her Pokédex.

"Yeah, it's been causing tons of trouble at my father's resort spa that's near here," Dan put on a dismayed look when he explained a little about the issue regarding Sandile.

Before Ash could ask what was wrong though, May and Iris got on top of him and Pikachu. The two girls asked simultaneously, "Did you just say 'resort spa'?"

"Yeah," Dan laughed nervously because of the girl's excitement.

"Do you think we can go?" May clasped her hands and her eyes began to sparkle.

"I'm sorry, but we're closed," the boy sighed and gave the girl a remorseful gaze.

"Closed, why?" Iris asked the boy with her eyes widened.

"Come with me," Dan told the pair and began walking. The girls got off Ash and Pikachu. The pair rubbed their heads while staring at them. _That was uncalled for_, Ash believed

The kids arrived at the hot sand spas where they saw yellow tape enclosing the zone. "We had to close a couple of weeks ago because a bunch of Sandile started popping up and bugging the guests. They began digging up pits everywhere so we were forced to close. It's surprising because the Sandile are normally calm." Dan clearly sounded disappointed when he recalled the event.

The group of four felt sorry for Dan, but their attention turned to something else when they spotted it. "Oshawott," a small Pokémon lay on the floor, covered in sand.

They all ran over to the starter and Ash spoke to him, "Oshawott, so this is where you were?"

"Osha," Oshawott maintained his eyes closed as he nodded.

"I can't believe we went through some trouble just to catch up with a Pokémon relaxing in the sand," May sighed, realizing the time she had wasted on trying to find a Pokémon that didn't seem to have too much consideration for others.

Iris looked around and noticed something, "Hey where did Pikachu and Axew go?" Iris had realized that Axew wasn't in her hair like usual and Pikachu was nowhere around.

"Pikaaaa," the group turned around and saw Pikachu lay in the sand.

"Axeeeew." Axew lay next to him and enjoyed the relaxed moment.

"That's not fair," May lowered her head in depression. She wasn't able to have the luxury of enjoying the sand like the Pokémon.

Ash reached for Oshawott's Pokeball and told the trio in the sand, "Come on guys, we have to get going."

Before Ash could put Oshawott in its ball though, a Sandile with sunglasses popped out and grabbed Axew by the leg using its jaw. Sandile held onto Axew from its leg and glared at the trainers, "Sand, sandile!"

"Axew!" The Dragon-type yelled out in fear.

"Hey let go of my, Axew!" Iris exclaimed and grabbed Axew from its arm, struggling to get her Pokémon back. Pikachu, Oshawott, Dan, Ash, and May tried to help, but the Sandile was persistent.

The Sandile felt Pikachu's ear tickling his nose and was forced to let go because it sneezed. "Sand sandile sand!" Sandile stared at the group angrily and bit Pikachu by the arm and Oshawott by its leg.

Sandile ran off with Pikachu and Oshawott, which further enraged the teenagers. "Get back here!" Ash cried out with an upset tone.

Ash and his friends ran after Sandile, however, even more Sandile popped out to guard the Sandile with sunglasses. "We'll have to battle our way through," May frowned at the Sandile and reached for Deerling's Pokeball.

Ash followed her lead, but before they could summon their Pokémon the Sandile used Sand-Attack to blind them. A Sand-Attack from dozens of Sandile proved to be the same as a Sandstorm rushing at you. "I can't see," Ash rubbed his eyes to get the dirt off.

The Sandile used Dig to escape the humans and were gone when they could see again. Iris grinded her teeth, "They got away!" the brown-eyed girl cried out.

"They must have gone to the mountains, let's go," Dan instructed and led the way.

Ash and the others arrived to the top just in time and saw the Sandile with sunglasses drop Oshawott and Pikachu next to a group composed of Deerling, Pidove, and Patrat. "What are those Sandile doing with all those Pokémon," May became confused regarding the Sandile's motives.

The Sandile with sunglasses climbed on top of a rock, "Sandile, sand dile sand sandile!" Once the leader finished speaking, the other Sandile began guiding Pikachu, Oshawott and the other Pokémon, forward.

All of a sudden, multiple geysers began to burst out of the rock. A geyser popped out next to Iris that caused her to back up against a rock a fear. Dan analyzed the area carefully and began talking, "Could it be that the Sandile have been trying to warn us about these geysers? Is that why it's been keeping tourists away and taking Pokémon?"

As more geysers burst out, Ash became more concerned, "We have to do something. We can't just sit here and watch!" The boy looked at his friends and then ran to Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Oshawott!" Ash called out to his friends and the mouse and otter ran to him in joy. The Sandile and its leader took notice, but knew there was no time to fetch the Electric-type.

Suddenly, a huge quake occurred that cracked the earth beneath them. Even thicker geysers started to burst out and began cutting through the ground. Ash held on to Pikachu so he wouldn't let go as May and the others watched in fear.

The Sandile turned around saw that the geysers had split them from the Patrat, Deerling, and Pidove. The Sandile with sunglasses felt horror as he saw the wild Pokémon become stranded on a small piece of rock surrounded by boiling water.

More geysers popped up that caused the Wild Pokémon to back up against each other in fear. Ash took notice of this and murmured, "I have to do something." He turned to May and the others with a stressed look in his eye.

"What is Ash doing? He has to come back before he's boiled!" Iris pounded the rock, fearing the fate of her friend while Dan also feared for Ash. May frowned at her boyfriend, she knew him well enough to know what he was thinking.

Ash looked at Pikachu and Oshawott with serious looks. "We have to save those Pokémon you two; we can't just leave them there!"

"Pika!" Pikachu returned a serious look as he looked up at his trainer while Oshawott was uncertain about the task at hand.

"Let's go then," Ash made a fist and ran with Pikachu toward the wild Pokémon. The Sandile, Iris, and Dan all watched as the pair ran to save the stranded Pokémon. The duo was centimeters away from the boiling water and planned to jump, but before Pikachu and Ash could reach them, Oshawott pulled Pikachu back and May pulled Ash back.

"Ash, are you insane? I do not want a boiled boyfriend!" May yelled at him, concern running all over her face.

"But May, we can't just give up!" Ash screamed back at her.

"We won't, but Pikachu and you wouldn't have made the jump. Think for a second, please," May frowned at Ash, but had calmed down a bit.

Ash turned to see the gap between the Pokémon and them. _May's right, it's far too wide_. He grinded his teeth and hid his eyes under his hat, _I know she's just following the duties she has as my girlfriend, but we can't just stand here_.

May made Ash look at her and caressed his cheek. She took notice of the sadness in his eyes, but gave him a caring smile. "I promise that we'll save them, Ash," May gave him a reassuring look. _I can't change the fact that he places others before himself, it's one of the many things that makes Ash, Ash_, _but I can't ignore the fact that I worry for him sometimes, I love him too much to lose him,_ the coordinator thought in her mind.

Pikachu realized how wide the gap was and thanked Oshawott with a pat on the back, who received it warmly, but they knew that something had to be done to save the Pokémon. Everyone's attention was suddenly caught by the Sandile, who started to take action.

The leader bit on a rock and leaned forward, forming a 180 degree angle. Another Sandile came and bit the leader by the tail, and formed a 180 degree angle as well. The other Sandile repeated after the other until they formed a narrow line of Sandile. The line began to bend forward and landed on the rock where the wild Pokémon stood.

"The Sandile are making a bridge!" Iris exclaimed in joy, already predicting what would happen next.

"That's brilliant," Dan was amazed by the Sandile's tactics.

"Come on guys, cross over," May encouraged them to cross over as she grinned at them.

They all seemed too frightened to cross. When Deerling tried to cross, a geyser burst beside her and scared the little Pokémon. Ash knew that this wouldn't work and crossed the bridge with Pikachu. The boy smiled at the Pokémon, "Nothing will happen because we won't let it, right Pikachu?"

"Pika!" the mouse nodded cheerfully.

"Pikachu, guide them across the bridge to the other side," Ash commanded and his mouse led the way across the Sandile bridge. The wild Pokémon began crossing behind Pikachu, but Ash started to notice that the Sandile were getting tired, "Just a little more," the black-haired teen encouraged.

On the other side Iris and Dan took the Pokémon to safety. At that sudden moment, the rock beneath Ash cracked a bit and made the boy lose his balance. Everyone became startled, but Ash grabbed one of the Sandile to keep him from falling into the water.

"Phew, that was a close one," Ash let out a deep breath, but saw that his weight made the Sandile struggle even more to keep this position.

Another geyser burst out uncontrollably and the water was about to splash on Ash. The boy's eyes widened and everyone felt fear crawl up their spines. May screamed, fearing for her boyfriend, but Oshawott ran across the Sandile Bridge and jumped to use Water Gun on the boiling water. "Oshaawott," Oshawott unleashed a fierce stream of water.

The Water Gun pushed the hot water towards another direction, but since Oshawott had jumped so high, he began falling down towards the boiling water. "Oshawott!" the otter Pokémon flailed in the air, but Ash reached for his Pokeball just in time.

"Oshawott, return!" Ash returned Oshawott to its Pokeball. "Thank you for saving me Oshawott," Ash smiled at the Pokeball and put it away, but Ash could no longer hold on to the Sandile and his grip loosened.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his hand to keep him from being boiled. He looked up and saw May smiling and gazing at him tenderly. Ash returned the tender gaze. "I'm here, and I'm not letting go," May spoke to him with a loving tone.

Ash nodded in acknowledgement, "I'm always here for you too." The two were pulled and the Sandile made a vertical line with Ash and May at the top. The Sandile with the sunglasses could no longer hold on and dropped with the other Sandile as well as Ash and May.

"You did it!" Iris and Dan congratulated them with joyous voices. Ash and May nodded at the girl, and then smiled at each other, but their gazes turned to the leader of the Sandile.

"Way to go Sandile," Ash congratulated the true hero of today.

Sandile smiled at the group warmly, the croc had taken a liking to the group, especially Ash.

* * *

**Later that day…**

"Well Dan, looks like the water from the geyser has given us a new attraction," Dan's father spoke proudly about the newest addition to their spa.

"Yeah dad, I'm a little sad that we lost the sand spa, but I'm glad things worked out anyway. Everyone is going to love our hot spring," Dan smiled contently.

"This is so lovely, I give it 5 stars!" May spoke cheerfully about the spring while she enjoyed it in her bathing suit.

"I could stay here forever!" Iris played with Axew while she enjoyed the spring too.

"Tell me about it!" Ash yelled joyfully as he played with Pikachu and Oshawott in the spring.

"Why, thank you kids. Stay for as long as you feel like," Dan's father grinned at them happily.

"We will," May stated as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder.

She turned to see that it was Ash and the two blushed. "I'm glad everything worked out May," the boy smiled at her with a red tint coloring his face.

"I'm glad too Ash," May gave him an affectionate smile as she felt a blush color her face.

The brunette pulled herself to kiss him on the lips, after everything that happened today, they were both glad that it ended so peacefully. Everyone smiled at the young love Ash and May were sharing, even a Sandile with sunglasses that was hiding behind the bushes.

**That's it for this chapter. I'm guessing most of you know what episode this was based on and included it because I saw that it contained some major elements. I even made it more dramatic with those Advanceshipping scenes, but anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will be completely original and a character will make his/her debut, try to guess who and if you want, leave it in your review. See ya guys later! **


	4. N vs Ash

Chapter 4: Hero

"Yes, we're finally in Striaton City!" Ash ran up to the entrance of the area with a wide smile on his face.

"You ready to win our gym battle, Pikachu?" Ash gazed at his shoulder where the mouse stood.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted and made a fist pump to show his enthusiasm.

"And that means I also get to have my contest battle, I'm in it to win it," May jumped in show, fire clearly in her eyes.

Iris crossed her arms and smiled slyly, "I hate to burst your bubbles, but this is Accumula Town."

The trio turned to Iris with surprised looks across their faces. "Accumula Town, this isn't Striaton City?" Ash gave the girl a disappointed gaze.

"Nope, sorry," Iris said with a sympathetic look on her face. She and Axew gave the trio sensitive looks that understood they're disappoint. She tried to lighten them up with some good news, "Hey, look at the bright side. We should be arriving in Striaton City tomorrow!" Iris exclaimed.

May lifted her head and made a half-smile, "I guess that's good."

"I can wait one more day, what about you Pikachu?" Ash acknowledged what Iris said and asked his friend.

The mouse nodded and Iris was glad that she cheered her friends up. Suddenly, May's stomach grumbled and the brunette held her tummy while smiling shamefacedly, "Oh, I guess I'm hungry."

Ash looked at May and then felt his stomach grumble as well, the raven-haired boy held his stomach and grinned sheepishly, "Make that two."

All of a sudden, more stomach grumbling was heard and Iris laughed nervously, "Make that all of us." Pikachu, Axew, and the teenagers all laughed, realizing that they had to get something to eat quickly.

"The Pokémon Center here should have food for us and the Pokémon, come on," Iris guided the pair and they got on their way.

When they arrived at the Pokémon Center they saw two strangely dressed people standing in front of the entrance. It was a man and a woman with stern looks. "I wonder who those guys are," May mumbled to herself.

When they arrived at the entrance of the Pokémon Center, they noticed that they couldn't pass because of the people blocking the entrance. "Excuse me, hungry travelers coming through," Ash told the pair as he tried to get through.

The man pushed him back aggressively and glared at the boy. They towered over the group fiercely with their gray and black armor that resembled a knight's armor. They had a coat of arms on their chests and an X on their hoods.

"You children shouldn't be here, go to the center of Accumula Town and listen to what our leader N, has to say. Everyone else has gone and so will you," the female spoke with a serious tone.

May's eyes flared, "I don't care what anyone has to say, I want to eat!" May viciously forced herself through her pair, but was grabbed by the shoulders.

The duo held May by the shoulders and held her still. "Little girl, you should be focusing on going to the center and listen to what N has to say, it certainly is more important than filling yourself with junk food," the male spoke in a tone just as serious as the woman.

"Hey let her go!" Ash yelled at the two and stared at them angrily.

The man and woman launched May at Ash, who caught her. The boy almost tripped to catch her, but kept the girl secured in her arms, "You okay May?" Ash gave May a concern look.

"I'm fine Ash, thank you," May gave the boy an assuring grin.

"Wow," Iris was surprised at how strong the pair was, but glared at them. "What do you guys want from us?" Iris gave the duo a dirty look.

The two laughed and the woman spoke, "We're Team Plasma and we are here to prove something."

"What would that be," May stood up properly after Ash let go of her.

"We're here to prove that the liberation of Pokémon is the answer to the crisis this world faces," the male Team Plasma Grunt stated.

"Team Plasma?" Ash put on a confused look. _Not another gang of crooks with an evil goal_, the boy thought as he recalled meeting the Team Magma and Team Aqua in Hoenn and Team Galactic in Sinnoh.

"Pika?" Pikachu also put on a baffled look, the mouse knew that this might spell trouble.

Iris had heard of Team Plasma, but she had never met them until now. The girl frowned at them, knowing that these guys meant bad news.

May was the only who showed no concern, food obviously came first. "That's great, can we get some food now?" the brunette glared at them more intensely.

"Go…to…the center of town brat," the male grunt spoke more aggressively now.

Ash grabbed May by the hand, knowing that they would never get anywhere like this. "Come on May, we'll see what's going that is so important," Ash suggested, hopefully they could get some food after that.

The group of five (including Axew) looked at the grunts fiercely as they walked away while Team Plasma gave them sly looks. When they arrived at the center of town they were surprised to see a whole crowd of people there.

"Looks like the entire town is here," Iris examined the area as she heard whispering among the crowd and heard a voice coming from the center.

"Let's go to the front, I want to see what's so special," May stated, still upset over the fact that she didn't get her food.

Ash nodded and they walked through the crowd until they reached the front. There they saw a large group of Team Plasma Grunts dressed in the same fashion as the two from the Pokémon Center and in the middle of them was a boy who looked a bit older than Ash.

He wore khaki pants and a white-collared shirt with a black shirt under it. He also wore a black and gray hap that covered his long, green hair that reached the midsection of his back. The boy also wore a necklace with a hanging black sphere enveloped by a blue design.

"Who's that guy?" Ash asked no one in particular as he looked at the boy.

N got on a platform in the middle so that the whole crowd could see him. The boy held his necklace as he looked at the entire crowd with wandering eyes. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. I'm here, in Accumula Town today for a very important reason, one that will enlighten the mind and make you realize something you could have never imagined, but first let me introduce myself, I'm N, the leader of Team Plasma."

Ash and his friends listening attentively, curiosity served as their motivation for listening. _This better be good, I didn't skip lunch for nothing_, May thought.

The leader of Team Plasma closed his eyes momentarily and opened them again, "I'm here to talk about the liberation of Pokémon." When N declared that everyone stared at each other with perplexed gazes, including Ash and the gang. "I'm sure most of you believe that humans and Pokémon are naturally born to become partners correct?" N stared at the crowd, with some giving him nods.

N frowned and spoke with a much more serious tone, "Well, that's incorrect. Pokémon and humans aren't meant to live together because we want and feel like we need each other. Rather, humanity has come to the belief that Pokémon serve us. Pokémon are subject to the indifferent commands given out by their masters, their trainers, coordinators, breeders, etc. I've traveled around the whole and I have seen Pokémon become slaves to people, they are abused to the point where they become just as ruthless as the one who raised it. People give me the excuse that this is not true, but I have seen it with my very own eyes. Organizations like Team Rocket have manipulated Pokémon to such extents that it is inhumane."

The crowd's expression became even more perplexed, they were not sure if what N said is actually true, but all of them gazed at their Pokémon when N spoke. Ash, Iris, and May looked at their Pokeballs, trying to understand what N said.

"Humans disregard Pokémon. They senselessly destroy their homes and capture them for multiple gains. Pokémon have become lab rats and are even used for the development of weapons of mass destruction. Pokémon contain a phenomenal potential that humans just can't wait to harness. In reality, Pokémon are different from humans and we should learn from them. They are the race that has always proven to be gentler, caring, and braver. Such different beings should not be allowed to live in a single space; it is not how the universe was created. I'm sure your Pokémon feel the same deep down, they just don't show it because they fear abuse. They long to be released from those infernal Pokeballs and set free, into the wild. We have to realize that we are only causing harm to our Pokémon and the most noble act would be if you all release your Pokémon, let them return to their natural habitats, like it was meant to be." N smiled as he saw people with angst expressions on their faces.

"Is N right? Is my Pokémon suffering? I can't let it be so miserable," a young man reached for his Pokeball and prepared to release his Pokémon.

A little boy stared sadly at his Pokeball, "But I love my Pokémon…"

"Team Plasma has a point, my Pokémon almost got stolen by those Rocket crooks in Nimbasa City," a woman said and reached for her Pokémon. "Go, be free Tynamo!" The woman released a little Pokémon.

"What are they doing, they just can't let their Pokémon go like that? Don't they love them?" May stared with anxiety all over her face.

"I don't think neither side wants to be separated, just look at their faces," Iris had a sad look on as she watched trainers release their Pokémon with depressing faces. The Pokémon even appeared like they were going to cry, not understanding the reason for their release.

Ash also gazed at the people who released their Pokémon, one by one. He grinded his teeth as he saw many Pokémon and humans alike, beginning to cry.

"That's the way people of Unova, liberate your Pokémon, this is their destiny! Only if we do this, will we finally be considered as equals. This is how we are supposed to live, with Pokémon and humans living separately, in their separate harmonies," N applauded the decisions of most of the crowd until he saw a little boy below him.

"But, but, but I don't want to release my Lillipup. I love it!" The little boy began shedding tears in front of N.

N smiled at him, "If you really love it, then let it go…" The green-haired teen assured that it was the correct path.

As N spoke, the boy began crying even more. Ash and his friends felt a gloomy feeling emerge inside them; they couldn't stand to see the boy. One of the Team Plasma members approached the boy and took his Pokeball, "Give that kid, Pokémon are meant to be free and you are obligated to do so."

The boy tried to reach for his Pokeball, but he was too small while N sighed. "Some humans still have so much to learn," the leader of Team Plasma spoke.

Ash could no longer bear the scene and stepped up. "Hey, give that little boy his Pokeball!" Pikachu also got on the floor and began sparking its cheeks.

"That's right, give it back you bully!" May stepped up as well.

"You have no right to force people to do something they don't want to," Iris also joined them.

N became surprised when he saw the trio defying him. "Or else what?" the Team Plasma Grunt laughed.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded and Pikachu electrocuted the man, causing him to drop the Pokeball. The little boy snatched the Pokeball and ran away, into the crowd.

Ash and May's gazes met N's and the raven-haired boy spoke to him, "What do you think you're doing. You can't just force people to be separated from their Pokémon, they love each other!"

N glared down at Ash, "You must have daydreamt during my whole speech."

"No he wasn't, he was paying as much as I was!" May defended her boyfriend.

"And let me just say, that you're wrong!" Ash yelled at N.

"Oh?" N became disturbed with what he heard. "Really, then how do you prove this?" N looked toward a Plasma member that handed him a steel container. The couple stared at him, wondering what he was doing. The green-haired leader reached for a rope inside the steel box and pulled out a Pokémon covered in soot and muzzle on his face. It was a Tepig.

May and Iris gasped when N showed the Pokémon, "What have you done to that poor thing?" the sapphire-eyed coordinator stared at him with fire blazed in her eyes.

"I found it like this, abandoned by its trainer. Tied to a post with this rope and had a muzzle placed on for further suffering. How do you explain this horrendous act of abuse? You expect me to do nothing and let trainers continue to abuse Pokémon like this simply because they lost in a battle? This proves that humans are plague to Pokémon, this abuse cannot be tolerated!" N exclaimed at them and then gazed at the crowd.

The demonstration further favored N's cause as more people freed their Pokémon. Ash turned to the crowd, "Stop, don't do this! You know you don't want to! You love your Pokémon, so you know that you'd never treat your Pokémon that way. For every bad guy who mistreats Pokémon, there are a 100 who treat their Pokémon right. Look at your Pokémon; they don't want to be released because they love you as much you do. I know from experience." Ash smiled and showed his Pikachu to the crowd.

"Pika pika pi pikachu!" Pikachu introduced himself to the crowd that was astonished by the rare Pokémon. N was the only one that didn't seem to be amazed by the sight.

"A long time ago, I tried to release my Pikachu because we ran into a group of Pikachu that were trying to be captured by criminals. Pikachu saved them and I felt like he should stay with them because he could serve as their protector, but Pikachu refused and continued to stick with me. I also don't keep him in a Pokeball because he doesn't enjoy it, and I'm more than happy to let him hang outside with me. I've done everything in my power to become the best trainer, show Pikachu that I cared about him and it has kept us together till this day," Ash talked about his various moments with Pikachu during his journey.

Everyone in the crowd admired Ash and Pikachu, this time even N was amazed. "A Pokémon that refused to return to the wild and is kept outside of its Pokeball, that's unheard of," N was impressed by the boy, but he looked down at the sad-looking Tepig and remembered why he was fighting for his cause.

May, Iris and Axew smiled at him, they had all known the boy long enough to know that he cared about Pikachu and not just Pikachu, but all Pokémon and people. The gang then turned to N, who grinned at them.

"That is an admirable act, what is your name?" N politely asked the auburn-eyed teen.

"Ash," the boy answered him.

"Ash, you have done well to prove your point, but you are only one out of the millions that harm Pokémon. I cannot let that pass. I have to make sure that no Pokémon is ever treated like this Tepig," N reasoned with Ash regarding their beliefs.

Ash and his friends looked down at the Tepig sympathetically, "Then why don't you try to convince Pokémon to treat their Pokémon better, why don't you raise Tepig yourself and show what a bond can create."

"That's a nice suggestion Ash, but I'm on a crusade to free Pokémon. Not to keep them to myself, that makes me no better than the other crooks roaming Unova and the world," N told the black-haired teen.

Ash responded N, "But you have to see that not everyone is as bad as you think. You saw that little boy from earlier; he loved his Pokémon too much to let it go. I don't like anyone that mistreats Pokémon either and I do everything in my power to stop them, I've traveled many regions, where I met criminals who do bad things to Pokémon and I always helped put a stop to them. That's why they're gone now."

N was shocked and thought _is this the boy that saved Hoenn and Sinnoh from the criminals in those regions_? "You may done that, but I plan to stop it worldwide and see no other way to do it, but through Pokémon liberation."

Ash grinded his teeth and glared at N, "You can't just take someone's Pokémon like that and release it without thinking about how the Pokémon and trainer love each other! That makes you no better than the criminals you're fighting against!"

At first N was repulsed by the fact that he was compared to the ones he was crusading against, but then chuckled. "Ash, you are a remarkable person, but I'm impressed by the fact that you will drop your belief system so easily. I'd like to test the bond of you and Pikachu as well as your willpower, with a battle."

Ash's friends and the crowd were surprised by the proposal. "I accept," Ash smiled at N slyly, the boy could never turn down a battle.

May smiled at her boyfriend's nature, _always ready to fight and defend_, the brunette thought in her mind. "You go get him, Ash!" Iris cheered him on and the boy smiled at the pair.

"Ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked the mouse in front of him, who nodded and put on his most confident face.

"Pika!" The mouse cheered excitedly and began sparking his cheeks.

Everyone backed away for the battle as N reached for his Pokémon. "Go, Darmanitan!" N released his Pokémon.

"What's that Pokémon?" May reached for her Pokédex and the machine showed a red gorilla-like Pokémon. The brunette learned that it was a Fire-type that evolved from of a Pokémon known as Darumaka. It also switches from Standard Mode to Zen Mode when it has little energy left.

Ash knew that this was going to be interesting as N smiled. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.

"Darmanitan, use Rollout!" N demanded and the ape curled into a ball that hit Pikachu, sending the mouse flying.

"Alright, use a combination of Agility and Thunderbolt!" the auburn-eyed boy instructed. Pikachu got his composure and ran all over the battlefield, releasing Thunderbolt everywhere. Pikachu moved so fast though, it looked like Thunderbolt was being shot out from all directions and Darmanitan clearly had a hard time dodging it.

Darmanitan was struck once, bringing the Pokémon to its knees for a second. "Impressive," N grinned. "Darmanitan, counter it with Bulldoze!" Darmanitan stomped on the ground and caused a large quake with enough force to send the mouse flying again.

"Finish it with Focus Blast," N smiled calmly with his arms crossed.

Ash began sweating a little, N proved tougher than he thought. "Pikachu, get it together and use Volt Tackle!" Pikachu got his composure back and used Volt Tackle.

The mouse dashed through the Focus Blast, unfazed and causing an explosion in midair, N and Darmanitan were too shocked to react and Darmanitan was sent flying after being hit. "Darmanitan, why let's intensify this with a Flame Typhoon!" N instructed with his arm extended. (Not a move, it's a combination).

Everyone was confused by the command; they were all unfamiliar with the move. Darmanitan began using Rollout in the same stop continuously while shooting out a flame, Darmanitan started moving faster and the flame became a hurricane-like disk formed from Darmanitan's flames. "No, release it!" N shouted out.

The attack seemed incredibly powerful, but Ash knew what countermeasure to take. "Pikachu, use Volt Tail!" Ash retaliated. It was another combination that baffled everyone, except May, remembering the attack that defeated Drew's Roserade, which felt like years ago.

N was further amazed and saw the bounce electrify its tail enough to send the typhoon back at Darmanitan. "Use Protect," N let out a deep breath as Darmanitan protected itself with a barrier.

Ash grinded his teeth, he had hoped that Darmanitan's own attack would have finished him, but something else surprised him and everyone else. "Darmanitan, return!" N returned the Pokémon.

The raven-haired teen raised an eyebrow, "Why did you do that?"

"You were clearly winning Ash, if I had continued Darmanitan would only get hurt and that's not what he battled it for, it was merely a test. You and Pikachu have a deeper connection than I could have imagined," N admitted to his defeat.

Ash and Pikachu smiled at the older male. N's smile vanished and he gave the boy a stern look, "But one loss won't stop my plans. I will continue to follow like belief system as you follow yours. I will continue my quest to stop criminals abusing Pokémon, like my father and his precious allies. By the way, here, you keep him, he'll be raised fine with you because you've proved it to me," N freed Tepig from its rope and muzzle, the green-haired boy told the pig to go ahead.

Tepig ran over to the group with a puzzled look, not sure what to expect from the strangers. Ash kneeled down and smiled at it, "Hey Tepig, do you want to join us, we promise to take good care of you, ok?" the boy welcomed the Fire-type.

At first it was unsure, but after recalling Ash's actions earlier about Pokémon, humans, and his bond with Pikachu, he felt like he could trust his new trainer. "Tepig!" the starter smiled happily as Ash petted him.

"Well ok then, Pokeball go!" Ash threw his Pokeball once Tepig got into and the pig was easily caught. May and Iris smiled at the touching moment when Pokémon and people show love to each other. _Now Tepig has a playmate of its own type_, May felt the idea cross through her mind and grinned at Ash, who held Tepig's Pokeball while grinning as well.

The boy turned to N, who just stared at him with a half-smile. "We will meet again Ash, next time things won't be so easy," N assured Ash of meeting again and turned around, walking away.

None of them were sure what N was talking about, however, he knew that N would show up again eventually, and they would have another clash of not just Pokémon, but of beliefs. N retreated with Team Plasma as the people of Accumula Town finally calmed down and returned their Pokémon, after seeing Ash battle, the town residents believed that it was best to stick with their Pokémon. Everyone in the center went their separate ways, with only Ash and the gang standing there.

Pikachu and Ash stared into the sky, wondering about N and his intentions; the boy was just as enigmatic as the men in black, despite making his purpose clear. He felt a hand reach for his and turned to see May, with Iris behind her.

"You did it Ash, you proved to N that he is wrong and you got a Tepig!" May congratulated her friend on the victory.

"Yeah, but that won't stop him from reaching his goal. He's probably going to continue to force people to let go of their Pokémon, but when he is, we'll be there to stop him. This isn't the last of him. As for Tepig, he'll make a great teammate, I know it. I'll take good care of him and show N how well Tepig is being raised when we meet again. " Ash told her as he made formed a fist and a smile danced across his face.

"I hate to ruin the moment you two, but N's gone now, let's just go get some food cause I'm hungry," Iris whined and the group laughed, this was the first time someone whined about the lack of food more than Ash and May.

* * *

**Later that night…**

The trio was sleeping at the Pokémon Center, each of them in their own bunk bed, but Ash had trouble sleeping and it was 1:00 pm. "I might as well go get some fresh air," Ash slipped out of his bed, leaving Pikachu. The boy looked at the two girls sleeping and smiled.

"Pika," Pikachu called out and Ash saw that the mouse had awakened.

"Hey pal, you caught me. Do you want to come along?" Ash asked Pikachu and the mouse nodded. Pikachu climbed up his shoulder and the friends grinned at each other.

The pair exited the room and climbed to the roof of the Pokémon Center, which happened to have a nice view of the route Ash and his friends had to take to get to Striaton City. Ash gazed at the moon with his hands on the rail while Pikachu stood on it.

"Pikachu pi?" Pikachu asked his best friend, who had done nothing but stare at the moon since they got up on the roof.

Ash smiled at him, "You're probably curious about why I couldn't sleep and came up here, huh pal?"

"Pi," the mouse nodded.

"I just couldn't stop thinking about what N said. Deep down, I felt like he made a point. During our whole time traveling, half of the time we confronted people with bad intentions. People like Team Rocket; they want to us Pokémon for power and domination." Ash spoke, the boy felt like his whole belief system had been challenged by N, but because of his pride, he hadn't shown it earlier.

"Chuuu," Pikachu lowered his ears. The little mouse knew that N had made a point, but they had to prove that what N said isn't the case. "Pika pika pikachu pi ka chu pi pika pi," the mouse talked to his friend.

"You're right buddy; I shouldn't question what I believe. It's the belief we have that has brought us so close and has kept us together, N's wrong. Pokémon were made to be with people and cooperate with them. I may not know much about history, but I learned once that most of it is built up on the cooperation and friendship between Pokémon and people," Ash recalled an old history lesson from when he was younger than 10.

"Chaaaa!" The Pokémon cooed as he leapt into his trainer's arms and was embraced in a tight hug.

"Pikachu, we've been through so much. We've stopped bad guys and have gotten into so many tournaments because of how close we are. We've shared so many emotions and moments, I don't see how anyone can convince me say that Pokémon and humans are born together only to be segregated," Ash smiled as he ran his fingers through the mouse's fur and rubbed his cheek with the mouse's.

"Thank you so much pal, I don't know what I'd do without you or May," the boy smiled as he held his best friend.

"You won't ever have to know, because Pikachu is never leaving you and I won't either," a voice called out and they turned around to see May in her bright yellow shirt with some her shorts on.

Pikachu climbed up to his shoulder as May walked over. "Did you hear all that?" Ash asked her, a little nervous.

"Most of it, but you don't have to be nervous Ash and admit that you almost let your pride go. To be honest, I almost felt like N had made a point, but then I remembered all the times I've had with my Pokémon and what you taught me and I realized that N was wrong." May placed her hand on top of Ash's, which had been on the rail.

The brunette gazed at him, "I know you're never going to give up everything you believe in Ash, because that just wouldn't be you and because everything you've said is true. Besides, you're the heroic one all the times, heroes are the always who always turn out to be the ones fighting for the right cause," May pointed out to him.

"Really, May?" Ash asked his girlfriend, a little puzzled.

"Yes, like when you helped that little boy who was getting his Pokémon taken by Team Plasma. You and Pikachu were ready to fight for the correct thing and you even beat N. Your attitude is like the hero they always talk about in books or show in movies," the brunette clarified it better.

The black-haired teen smiled at the moon when she said that, "Thank you, May."

"For what, Ash?" the coordinator asked him.

"For coming up here to talk to Pikachu and me and for coming into my life," the boy responded and the girl squeezed his hand as a sign of affection. The two leaned their heads against each other and Pikachu standing on Ash's shoulder. The three gazed at the night.

**That was Chapter 4, I hope you enjoyed it and how many of you were actually expecting N. I really enjoyed writing this chapter because it's an interesting twist on how Ash gets Tepig. There will be plenty of more chapters like this one in the future because as we progress, the story will start to separate from the anime more and more, but don't worry. They'll still be some chapters based on significant episodes. Till next time guys!**


	5. Meet Hilda

Chapter 5: Alive

"Hey, my C-Gear says we're just several feet away from Striaton City," May read the map on her C-Gear.

"My C-Gear says that too," Ash checked to confirm what May said and a smile formed across his face. "Come on, May!" Ash ran ahead with Pikachu.

May ran and caught up with him, the couple and Pikachu were smiling as they went ahead. Iris and Axew sighed, "I guess, we have to run now too, kids," the brown-eyed girl said and ran.

When the group reached a hill that showed Striaton City, Ash, May, and Pikachu felt a feeling of adrenaline surge inside them.

Ash ran down the hill to the entrance of the city, "Striaton Gym, here I come!" The others ran after him and they entered a humble city with people walking around and shopping.

They stared at everything they passed and Ash noticed that some were gazing at his Pikachu. "Looks like Professor Juniper was right about you being rare pal," Ash smiled at the mouse and scratched his neck.

"Chaaa," Pikachu received Ash warmly.

"I wonder who the contestants are going to be," May placed her finger on her chin and wondered.

Ash placed his hand behind his head and wondered, "I wonder who the gym leader." The boy and his Pikachu had puzzled looks on.

"Pika pikachu!" the mouse told his partner.

"You're right Pikachu, guess we won't find out till we look," Ash said and ran ahead while May's face brightened as well.

"Ash, wait up, I'm right behind you," May ran behind the boy, but Iris stopped the pair.

"Hold it, do you guys, even know where the gym and contest are at," Iris put on sly eyes.

When the thought came to the couple's mind, May smiled sheepishly while Ash laughed nervously. "That's what I thought," Iris made a cunning smile and gave Axew an apple.

All of a sudden, a man came up behind Iris. "Excuse me, I couldn't help, but tell you that you have a marvelous bond with your Axew."

Iris turned around and the rest of the gang caught eye with him as well. He had green hair, emerald eyes; he also looked slightly older than the group. He dressed like a waiter and his hair stood up in a spiky fashion. Iris and Axew blushed at him, "Why, thank you," the young dragon trainer grinned.

The man nodded with a grin, but then he saw Ash's Pikachu and began to admire it with sparkling eyes. "A Pikachu in Unova, indeed this is a fine encounter!" the male picked the mouse up from Ash's shoulders and Pikachu smiled at him nervously.

Ash and May found his attitude a bit odd, but nonetheless grinned at the kind-looking guy. "Hey there, I'm Ash, from Pallet Town," the auburn-eyed teen introduced himself.

May moved forward and stood next to her boyfriend, "I'm May, from Petalburg City."

Iris got in front of the couple, "And I'm Iris, from Village of the Dragons!" The girl greeted him happily.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Cilan," the boy smiled and introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you too, Cilan," Ash shook hands with the slightly older boy.

"So, you guys have come from pretty far, what brings you two here?" Cilan asked them politely.

Ash had a confident smile dance across his face, "I'm here to compete in the Unova League!"

May made a fist and formed a confident grin, "And I'm here to compete in the Unova Grand Festival!"

Cilan's eyes widened, "My, those are some impressive goals you have." The pair nodded while smiling at him. Cilan's gaze turned to Iris, "What about you, Iris?"

"I want to become a Dragon Master," the purple-haired girl answered with a beaming smile.

"That's just as impressive," Cilan admired the goals the trio had for themselves.

Iris popped up again, "What do you do, Cilan?"

The boy's green eyes started to spark and he opened his arms, "I'm a Pokémon Connoisseur!"

May, Ash, and Pikachu became confused. Cilan placed Pikachu back on Ash's shoulder and explained, "It's a job, only common here in Unova, so I understand why you wouldn't know, but a Pokémon Connoisseur is someone who analyzes the bond between a trainer and its Pokémon." The trio finally understood what Cilan meant and that explained why he went up to Iris like that earlier.

"That sounds so fascinating," May smiled, she didn't even know there were jobs like that.

"Hey Cilan, you think you can analyze the bond between me and Pikachu?" Ash inquired, interested in what someone else thought about the relationship between he and Pikachu.

May then jumped, "Oh, and then tell me about the connection I have with my Blaziken," May became just as intrigued as Ash and the two almost got on top of him.

Cilan laughed nervously and the trainers kept pleading until Iris spoke, "Hey, are you forgetting that we are supposed to be heading somewhere?"

"Oh, right!" Ash remembered and so did May, wondering how their matches could have escaped their heads.

"Cilan, do you know where the Pokémon Gym and Contest are at?" May questioned the male, assuming that he was from Striaton City.

The green-eyed coordinator smirked, "Why, yes I do!"

"Great, then let's get going!" Ash cheered and prepared to run until he heard someone say "but".

The raven-haired teen and Pikachu turned around. "You should probably know though, if you're going to participate in Pokémon Contest, then you should head there first because it's the last one being held here and it begins shortly," Cilan explained the situation to them so they wouldn't too hasty.

"Last one?" May's eyes widened, believing she had enough time to participate. Cilan nodded and the brunette sighed, _what should I do now…_

Ash took note of May's sad expression and stared at her with grief. "Ash, do something," Iris knocked her elbow at him. The auburn-eyed boy knew that he go to the gym anytime for a battle, but a contest had a limited time for entry and participation. May, would have to wait till the next contest if they went to the gym.

"Guess we'll have to wait a little longer bud," Ash turned to his shoulder and informed Pikachu.

"Pikachu," the mouse let Ash know that he understood. His trainer's love for May came before personal satisfaction.

The boy walked over to May, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go to the contest first, May." Ash told her while giving his girlfriend a warm smile.

May was caught by surprise, "But Ash, don't you want to have your gym battle?"

"It can wait, besides, gym battles are held at anytime. I want you to go and win that ribbon first, instead," the boy talked with a caring tone.

May blushed at Ash's consideration and pecked him on the cheek. "Thank you Ash, you're the best boyfriend anyone could have."

"Anytime May," Ash held the girl in his arms and grinned.

"What a fine couple," Cilan admired the pair's young love while Iris bobbed her head in agreement; those two were clearly made for each other.

When the duo separated from their embrace, Cilan volunteered to lead them to where the contest was being held at and after that, to the gym. "Thanks, Cilan," Ash grinned at Cilan for his generous offer.

The group began walking towards the area where the contest was being held at and May began to ask the green-haired boy some questions. "Cilan, what are the contests like here?" the sapphire-eyed girl questioned him.

"It's very much the same like in the other regions. The judges are a Mr. Contesta, the local Nurse Joy, and a Mr. Sukizo. The first round is the appeal round where it starts out with 16 contestants, the 8 with the highest scores move on to the battle rounds. The highest you can score is a 25, during the two rounds you must use a different Pokémon to battle until two contestants reach the final round. During the final round, it's just battling, but you also have to perform skillful attacks of course since it's not just an average battle and during the final round you must use another Pokémon that was not used in the appeal or battle rounds." Cilan informed May about how basic contests in Unova were; it was no different from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh.

May shook her head during the whole time while the others listened as well. "You also need to remember that the battle and final rounds are five minutes with two yellow bars for each contestant. The one with fewer points on their bar is the loser or if they are unqualified to continue or if their Pokémon has fainted. A coordinator will lose points when their Pokémon are hit, if its attack fails, or if they break a rule. If you're interested, you should also know that the host is a woman named Jillian, she is a sister of the hosts in the four regions you are familiar with."

"Wow that sounds like a lot of stuff to keep in mind of. May, do you have your plan laid out," Iris asked her friend about her plans for the contest. Iris wasn't sure if she could ever compete in a battle with so many rules and requirements.

"You bet! I've done this long enough to feel prepared. It may have been at least a month since I've been in an actual contest, but I feel ready. All the training done with Deerling, Tepig, and Blaziken should help me win this one!" May felt pumped about her contest and put on her signature smile.

"How are you going to set it up?" Ash asked May, he too was confident about May winning, after traveling with her and seeing her skills, there's no reason why she would lose.

"Yep, Deerling for the appeal round, Tepig for the battle rounds, and Blaziken for the final round," May went into more detail about her strategy.

"I can't wait to see this contest, it has been such a long time since I've seen one and it's even more exciting knowing that you'll use your Blaziken, May. This will be one spicy, yet sweet performance!" Cilan stated with eagerness in his voice.

They all smiled at each other, they were all certain that May would dominate. "Pika pika!" Pikachu pointed out to the group and they all saw a large building that resembled Roman architecture.

"Wow, it's beautiful…" May became mesmerized by the place where her contest was going to be held in. It had three pairs of columns with banners extending downwards, promoting the Pokémon Contest. There were three large entrances to the building with arches at the top of each entrance.

May became so distracted though that wandered away from her friends and bumped into someone in front of her and they both fell. "Ouch," the girl May bumped into cried out.

"I'm so sorry!" May gasped, realizing what she had done. The brunette got up and lent the girl a hand, "I'm so sorry for making you fall, I was just so distracted with the building that I didn't see you. Are you hurt?" the sapphire-eyed girl asked the person with a worried tone.

The girl got up and smiled at her, "I'm fine, thank you." The dark-haired girl picked up the hat she had on and grinned at May, "It happens to all of us at least once."

May placed her hand behind her head and laughed nervously. "So, are you here to compete?" the female asked May.

"Yes, I am! I'm May, a Pokémon Coordinator from Hoenn," the girl from Hoenn answered eagerly and introduced herself.

"I'm Hilda, from Nuvema Town. I'm a coordinator too! By the way, it's cool that you're from so far away, I've never met anyone from Hoenn," Hilda introduced herself and talked to the brunette with a calm attitude.

May had a grin form across her face, "Does this mean you're going to compete in the Unova Grand Festival too?" Hilda nodded as a response to May's question.

When Hilda was about to ask something else though, Ash, Iris, Cilan, and Pikachu showed up. "May, why'd you go off like that, we were calling you back, but you went off with a zombie," Ash told May about what had happened.

"Sorry about that, but look. I made a friend," May apologized for the incident and then showed his friends, Hilda. "Hilda, these are my friends, Iris, Cilan, Ash, and Pikachu. Guys, this is Hilda, a Pokémon Coordinator."

"Nice to meet you," Hilda and May's friends said simultaneously.

"Ash comes from Kanto, so that's why he has a Pikachu if you were wondering," May giggled as she told Hilda about messy-haired teen.

"Hi there, so you going to compete in the contest with May?" Ash asked Hilda.

Hilda admired the foreigner and his Pikachu. She placed her hands on her hips and nodded in a cheerful fashion, "That's right!"

"Cool, do you have any ribbons?" Iris questioned the new girl.

"Yep, here," Hilda reached into her bag for a rhombus-shaped case and unfolded it. Inside was a red and blue with a golden centerpiece that took the shape of a pentagon. The pentagon had a crown on it like most ribbons and had a unique design on the center of the pentagon; it looked like a Tao symbol.

May's eyes shimmered with her hands clasped together, "That's such a beautiful ribbon!"

Hilda smiled and put it away, "Thanks, May."

"Now it's my turn to win a ribbon in Unova," the Petalburg coordinator spoke with a voice powered by confidence.

"Then, I look forward to competing against you May," Hilda stated and the girls exchanged self-assured, but friendly looks. When the pair finished, Hilda grinned at the entire group, "Well, I'll see you guys at the contest. Good luck, May." The girl the dark, brown hair gave May a smirk and walked away.

May returned the smirk and acknowledged that she had found a rivalry in Hilda. "Come on, let's go so I can sign-up," the brunette told her companions and they agreed.

Inside, they signed up thanks to the local Nurse Joy. "The contest starts in a few minutes, so I recommend you go to the lockers and get set," the pink-haired woman recommended and the group thanked her for the advice.

In the locker room, they all stuck together and May took a glance at her friends. "You know, I'm actually a little nervous. The rules may be the same and it's not my first time, but now I'm facing off against completely new people and Pokémon. There's no Harley, Solidad, or Drew," May admitted her feelings regarding the contest.

"I'm sure you'll do great," Cilan complimented the brunette.

"Yeah, after seeing you train so hard, I'm certain that you'll win," Iris assured May about a victorious outcome.

"Pika pi pikachu pi ka!" Pikachu also cheered for May while standing on Ash's shoulder.

"They're all right May, you're going to be fantastic and I know that you'll come out as the victor. After knowing you for so long, and seeing what you can do, I know that you'll show everyone here what a Hoenn Coordinator can do! Also, here, for good luck," Ash leaned in and kissed the girl on her lips.

The boy placed his hands on her waist and the girl ran her fingers through his hair. Their tongues intertwined and they both enjoyed it. When they separated, May placed her hand on her heart and smiled at Ash and all her friends, "Thank you, all of you." The brunette gazed at Ash's sweet auburn eyes and blushed, "Thank you Ash."

"I've got your back, May," the raven-haired teen winked at her.

Suddenly, a beeping noise went off and May saw on her C-Gear that it was time. "Here goes, wish me luck," May prepared to leave, but not before smiling at her friends and winking at Ash.

Ash and the others grinned at the sapphire-eyed coordinator as she ran off. "Let's go find some seats and cheer for May from there," Cilan suggested and they all agreed.

"Ladies and gents, thank you for being able to make it the yearly Striaton City Contest!" a woman with a similar appearance to Lillian and Vivian announced, except she wore tight black jeans, red high heels and a red tank top to match her heels.

"I'm Jillian, the host of the Unova Contests all over the region and the host of the annual Unova Grand Festival, it is an honor for me to be here with you all today, but how we get this contest started!" Jillian yelled, quick and to the point. Her voice encouraged the entire crowd to roar, whistle, and applaud.

"This is going to be one heck of a contest," Cilan smiled as he looked at the crazed people.

"People sure love Pokémon Contests," Iris stated, a little frightened by how excited the audience got.

"You've seen nothing yet," Ash told Iris while Pikachu sat on his lap, the boy smiled as he waited for the contest to begin.

"With us today, we have the local Nurse Joy, Mr. Contesta, and Mr. Sukizo as judges!" Jillian introduced the three judges, whom greeted at the crowd. "And with us we also have the first contestant of the show, all the way from Hoenn Region, she got into the Top 8 during her first Grand Festival in Hoenn, Top 4 in the Kanto Grand Festival, and winner of the Johto Grand Festival, I welcome May!" Jillian extended her arm to the left, the spotlight on the exit where May came from.

Some members of the audience became intimidated by May's achievements, but others simply roared loudly when they saw the brunette. The girl ran onto the field as she appeared on multiple screens. Boys wolf-whistled when they saw the brunette while girls felt jealousy toward the brunette, Ash couldn't help but feel irritated when guys wolf whistled at her and heard some inappropriate things being yelled at her. Iris, Cilan, and Pikachu laughed at Ash when they noticed his face get slightly red and told him to cool down, it's just how some people are.

The boy sighed and smiled, he just planned on enjoying the contest. May blushed at the compliments and roses thrown at her, but she thought of Ash and smiled, _no one can ever replace my Ashy_, May giggled as she thought.

"Ok May, the stage is all yours!" Jillian told the sapphire-eyed girl and moved away.

May got her Pokeball and threw, "Deerling, take the stage!" The brunette jumped and threw her arm upwards like she use to do in Hoenn and Kanto.

The Season Pokémon emerged from Pokeball and smiled at the crowd, feeling like a superstar. "Alright Deerling, let's show everyone what we're made of, start with Aromatherapy!"

Deerling nodded and the flower on top of its head started to glow a bright gold color. "Deerling, you know what to do next," May spoke and with that Deerling began changing the colors of the flower. The rays from the light given off Deerling's glowing flower reached the audience. It was like an aurora that scattered everywhere, the rays changed into multiple neon colors that fascinated the crowd.

"Now, release it!" May commanded and Deerling released the Aromatherapy, unlike the usual green-yellow powder it let out though, the powder also changed into different colors, it was like a powdered version of a rainbow floating throughout the stage. "Deerling, use the Nature Ball combination!" Ash, Iris, and Pikachu smiled when they heard the command, they had seen May prefect that combination yesterday and they knew the crowd was in for a delight.

Deerling released an Energy Ball larger than the average and bashed through the powder that continued to roam the area. The Grass-type followed it up with Nature Power, which everyone knew varied because it was an attack based on location. This time Deerling let out a Swift Attack that burst the Energy Ball. The collision caused a gust that spread the Aromatherapy everywhere, reaching the audience. The clash between Swift and Energy Ball created even more colorful sparkles that the crowd admired. Everyone in the audience also enjoyed the delightful smell Aromatherapy gave off when it reached them.

"And scene," May took a bow along with her Deerling.

"Amazing, May has given us a colorful and sweet-smelling performance with those combinations, judges what did you think of?" Jillian turned to the trio for an opinion.

The three buzzed in and on the screen appeared a large 25. "Wow, a perfect score, let's give a hand to May!" Jillian put the spotlight on May and everyone applauded her.

"It was a colorful experience," Nurse Joy praised the performance.

"That gave off a mystifying, yet marvelous fragrance," Mr. Contesta stated with a satisfied smile.

"Delightful," Mr. Sukizo gave us his simple, but cheery opinion.

May walked off as everyone continued to praise her, "I didn't expect to get a perfect score, but it feels great to know that I did that well!" May clasped her hands and cheered. "Good job, Deerling!" May smiled at Deerling, who walked next to her. The brunette thanked her for the fantastic job and returned it into its Pokeball.

"That was one of the best things I've ever seen and as a bonus, I got a chance to get a scent of sweetness," Cilan felt in harmony as he sniffed the last of Aromatherapy.

"She did fantastic; I knew she'd do great!" Iris cheered for her friend.

"Pika pi pika!" Pikachu also applauded May's performance.

Ash just smiled and stared at the image of May's face on the screen, _I knew you could do it_.

Hilda had also been watching May's performance and became impressed, "She's better than I thought. May lives up to her reputation. This is going to be exciting," Hilda made a fist and anticipated a showdown between her and May.

The next contestants were up, many of them used Pokémon like Pignite, Grabador, Purroloin, Lillipup, etc, but none could match the show May had given, making the brunette feel all the more proud of herself. The last contestant was Hilda though, and this is when May and the others wondered how good she was.

"Now here's our final contestant, please welcome Hilda from Nuvema Town!" Jillian welcomed the dark-haired brunette, causing the crowd to scream and applaud her.

"Seems like Hilda's given herself quite the reputation amongst contest viewers," Iris noticed the posters and drawings of Hilda.

"Then this might be interesting," Cilan grinned, expecting a good performance.

Ash and Pikachu were without a comment, they only watched quietly, waiting to see how good Hilda was. The Nuvema girl got her Pokeball and threw it, "Cubchoo, stage on!"

When Cubchoo appeared on the stage, it smiled happily and greeted the crowd, "Cubchoo!" The greeting was warmly received by the crowd that went, "Awww."

"What Pokémon is that," Ash got out his Pokédex to figure out.

The mechanic voice of the Pokédex began speaking, "Cubchoo, the Chill Pokémon. Cubchoo evolves into Beartic. Its constantly runny nose is the source of its energy and its sniffles power its moves."

When Iris and Axew saw the Ice-type she felt a cold chill crawl up her spine. Cilan got surprised when she felt the girl hold on to his arm. Ash and Pikachu also noticed and the auburn-eyed boy asked, "What's wrong Iris?"

The girl let go of Cilan's arms and responded, "I just have a phobia related to Ice-type Pokémon. It's something I've had since I was a kid, but it's nothing. Axew also caught that from me, so he tends to be afraid too."

The boys and Pikachu laughed at Iris and Axew's fear of Ice Pokémon, but the girl and Axew shrugged it off and the four went back to watching.

"It's so cute!" May exclaimed when she saw the screen and thought she would catch one if she ever found Cubchoo roaming in the wilderness.

"Don't let his small and cute size fool you, Cubchoo split into 7!" Hilda demanded and her Cubchoo used Double Team to make 7 copies. "Alright, two of you use Brine!" Hilda commanded and the two Cubchoo shot out a stream of water, but what was unique about it was that they could manipulate the trajectory.

The double Brine swirled and twirled so much that it began to resemble a water slide in midair. "Two of you use Icy Wind now," Hilda instructed two other Cubchoo. The pair opened their jaws and gathered light blue sparkles that were then blown out like wind. The Icy Wind began freezing the water slide created by the other two Cubchoo and it became an ice sculpture with a whirling or twisting motion, it could be considered an ice slide.

The audience and the gang admired the twinkling ice sculpture with awestruck eyes. "You three are up!" Hilda smiled and pointed at the three remaining Cubchoo. They grinned happily and got on the ice slide, the three began cheering happily as they swirled and twirled all the way through the structure, which resulted in another "Awww," from the crowd. When they reached the end of the ride, the three flew in midair and Hilda snapped her fingers as a sign for the next command.

The trio then let out a violent scream aiming at the sculpture. Echoed Voice wasn't strong enough to damage or bother anyone's hearing, but the shriek was enough to break the ice. The ice sculpture slowly began cracking and broke into tiny pieces that dropped like diamonds onto the stage. The Cubchoo dropped down and they all became a single Cubchoo again.

"And that's that," Hilda smiled when she declared her performance over.

All members of the audience admired the dropping ice with captured eyes. Jillian stared at the twinkling pieces until she thought it was time to get on with the show. "Alright folks, we got yet another fantastic performance from a talented coordinator, but let's see what our judges thought!" Jillian turned to the three judges.

The judges buzzed in and the screen revealed a large 25. "Incredible, Hilda is the only other coordinator aside from May that achieved a perfect score. Guess from this, we know which two contestants are certainly moving on." Jillian winked at the crowd after finishing her remark.

"It was an adorable presentation!" Nurse Joy complimented Hilda.

"That proved charming and majestic at the same time," Mr. Contesta praised Hilda's act.

"Delightful," Mr. Sukizo commented with a pleased tone as well.

"That was a really good performance," Iris was extremely impressed by what she saw and she was even more impressed that Hilda got a perfect score.

"Talk about cold, but heartwarming," Cilan became amazed by the icy yet adorable presentation.

Ash frowned a little, after seeing such a performance he was certain that May and she would go up against each other because no one else was on par with them. May had to be ready for the challenge. Pikachu noticed the look on Ash's face and thought the same thing, this was going to become very intense when May and Hilda clashed.

"She's…phenomenal, this is not going to be easy," May realized when she saw Hilda's performance and the score she received.

"Now, let's see who made it into the Battle Round, there were many talented coordinators here today, but only a few will get to advance!" Jillian announced and turned to a screen with a blank white display.

When the screen finally showed something, everyone saw the people who got into the Battle Round. It was no surprise that Hilda and May got in though; they were clearly the best of the best. They also saw who each person would go up against, luckily May and Hilda hadn't been paired up…yet. May went up against a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and Hilda went up against a random stranger as well.

"For now though, let's take a short 5 minute break folks, catch ya then," Jillian winked at the audience.

Ash and the others went to the locker room where they found May sitting. "Hey, May," Ash walked over to her with the others.

"You did great out there, I had never seen anything like it," Iris complimented her friend.

"Pi pika!" Pikachu congratulated May as well.

"Indeed, you left the crowd amazed," Cilan further supported Iris and Pikachu's opinion.

"It was no surprise though, I know you could do it," Ash sat next to May and placed his arm around her waist.

May blushed and grinned at him, "Thanks, but I don't know how I'll do now. I mean for now everything will be fine, but what will happen when I go against Hilda?"

Ash ran his fingers through her hair and smiled at his beloved, "Don't say that May, you have done great throughout your whole career as a coordinator. I have never been more proud of you and you just keep improving, impressing more and more. You've beaten Harley, Drew, and Solidad in the past, you've won a Grand Festival, you shouldn't let Hilda's abilities scare you because you have what it takes to win."

There was nothing in the world more reassuring than Ash's words, than his presence, _I love him_, May grinned at him adorably and leaned on his shoulder while Ash leaned his head on hers.

"Where's Hilda?" Iris looked around for the Unova Coordinator.

"She must be getting ready, it's about to start again," Cilan pointed out when he read the clock.

"Then that means we have to go," Ash got up, but not before caressing May's hand a bit as they separated. The smile Ash gave her was good enough to encourage her for the rest of the contest and May returned a warm smile.

The friends got on their way as the contest started again. When it started, it took some battles before May or Hilda were up, but Hilda was the first to fight when it was time and made quick work of the opponent's Zebstrika with her Jellicent, which amazed the crowd even more because of the type disadvantage Hilda had and the power her Jellicent had shown. Right after Hilda's battle was May and she went up the girl from the picture.

"Ok folks, we've seen some great battles up until now, but let's see how these two go up against each other, I'm sure they won't disappoint, begin!" Jillian made a karate chop motion while the woman's face and May's appeared on the screen with yellow bars under and 5 minute time limit.

"Tepig, let's win this!" May threw Tepig's Pokeball and the pig emerged with a grin on its face.

"Tepig!" the pig quickly got serious and got into a battle stance.

"Scolipede, show no mercy. Use Sludge Bomb!" the woman ordered with her French accent. The moment the woman threw her Pokeball, a Sludge Bomb shot out along with a giant centipede-looking Pokémon.

The Pokémon towered over Tepig fearsomely as Sludge Bomb shot at him. May panicked for a moment, but knew how it handle it, "Tepig, use Defense Curl!"

Tepig rolled into a ball when Sludge Bomb hit the pig, but it didn't seem to damage the pig too much as it rolled back out. The woman's points dropped slightly while May's only dropped by a bit.

"Scolipede, show them that we mean business, use Steamroller!" Scolipede rolled into a ball that spun towards Tepig at a rapid rate.

"Dodge that Tepig!" May called out and the Fire-type dodged just in time, but Scolipede spun around and hit Tepig without a miss this time.

"Te...pig!" the fire Pokémon cried out as it flew. May's points dropped slightly.

"This isn't good, this battle has become surprisingly sour," Cilan commented as he looked at Tepig.

"Scolipede is too much of a powerhouse for Tepig!" Iris yelled out, stressed over the battle.

"C'mon May, you can do this. I know you can," Hilda murmured as she watched the screen with an intense look in her eyes.

Ash and Pikachu stared at May and Tepig calmly, _May's been through worse situations, she could handle this one too_, Ash recalled moments where May almost lost to Harley and Drew.

"Quick, now use Venoshock!" the woman called out.

May grinded her teeth, _we're going to have to count on speed for this_, the brunette had an idea in her mind. "Tepig, dodge and then use your strongest Tackle!"

Scolipede shot out green acid at Tepig, but the pig swiftly moved across the battlefield and managed to get close enough to send a blow that sent the bug backwards a bit. The woman's points dropped a good amount, which gave May the lead again.

"Fight back with Poison Tail!" the woman got frustrated when she saw how much her points dropped.

"No you don't! Tepig, jump off its tail and use Ember!" May commanded and when Scolipede aimed its tail at Tepig, the pig jumped off it and shot Ember at Scolipede's face.

The attack was a critical hit and made the Bug/Poison-type squeal in pain. The woman's points dropped again significantly. "That's the way!" Iris stood up and cheered as other parts of the crowd also cheered for May.

_Told ya_, Ash grinned happily.

"Tepig, you're doing great, keep it up!" May praised Tepig's performance against Scolipede.

"Enough, Scolipede use Hyper Beam!" the woman yelled and her Pokémon unleashed the powerful attack.

"Tepig, dodge!" but it was too late for Tepig to move away and the attack hit.

May and the crowd's eyes widened, wondering if it was over. The woman smiled slyly, "Fini." The woman's eyes became startled when she saw that Tepig wasn't there though, "What, where's the pig?"

May didn't know what happened either and only saw a hole where Tepig stood. "Tepig must have used Dig as an escape attempt," Cilan pointed out, but where was Tepig now?

Suddenly, the starter burst in front of Scolipede and hit the Pokémon by the chin like if it were a Sky Uppercut, but it didn't stop there. Tepig shot out Ember in its face again, which made the Pokémon squeal in pain.

"Tepig, great thinking and you learned Dig!" May cheered in happiness while Tepig nodded at her with a joyful grin.

"This isn't over, Scolipede use one more Hyper Beam!" the woman shouted, but then the buzzer was heard. Everyone stopped what they were doing and saw that the five minutes were up. May and Tepig's faces had smiles on them when they saw that they had more points than their opponent.

"And the winner is May!" Jillian happily declared and the audience cried out with joy.

May's opponent returned Scolipede and walked away without a word. May hugged Tepig and smiled gleefully, "Tepig we did it! You were great!"

"Yay May!" Iris cheered for her friend again while Ash, Cilan, and Pikachu clapped for their friend, but they knew May wasn't in the clear yet.

Hilda put on a satisfied smile on her face, "She really is something else."

The pig licked her as a sign of affection and they returned to the locker room. When the first part of the Battle Round ended, Hilda and May were among the ones that came out victorious, but they still hadn't been paired up against each other.

There were no breaks this time and the contest quickly got on with the event. Hilda once again made quick work of another opponent while May also handled her opponent with ease, despite the Pokémon being a Tympole.

After that it was the second part of the Battle Round ended, Jillian prepared for the final round and like everyone had predicted. It was May vs. Hilda. "Alright ladies and gents, I'm happy to announce that we are up to the final round of the contest. Now we have Hilda vs. May, please give me an applause," Jillian ordered the crowd and they all began clapping.

Hilda and May got on stage, smiling at each other. "This is, May and Hilda's match," Ash grinned, anticipating a great battle.

"This is going to be spicy," Cilan watched with eagerness.

"I'm so nervous," Iris ate her apple anxiously while taking turns with Axew.

"Pika chu pika chu!" Pikachu got out pompons and began cheering for May; it was something he had picked up from Dawn during their time in Sinnoh.

"Time for our showdown May, let's see who makes it. I'm not holding back just because I think you're a nice person, I'm going to give it my all," Hilda reached for her Pokeball.

"I don't plan to either Hilda, let's battle our best and give these people a show ok? Now show me what you got," May reached for her Pokeball and they both smiled confidently.

"Begin!" Jillian announced and it began.

"Musharna, you're up!" Hilda released her Pokémon.

When May saw it, she took out her Pokédex to learn about the tapir-like Pokémon. "Musharna, the Drowsing Pokémon and the evolved form of Munna, the mist from its forehead takes the form of things present in the dreams it has eaten."

"It's a Psychic-type huh? We'll just have to find a way to beat, Blaziken, I need you," May released her Hoenn Pokémon.

When the starter got on stage, it stood proudly in front of the crowd. Hilda and the audience became amazed by the majestic Fire-type, half the crowd had never seen the Hoenn Pokémon before so it was an honor.

Cilan was taken back by how powerful May's Blaziken looked while Iris, Ash, and Pikachu grinned slyly, the audience was about to see real power.

Hilda smiled, "Just because it's from some far away region, doesn't mean I don't know anything about it May, prepare to see what I can do, Musharna, use Psyshock!"

Musharna formed three thick masses of light blue, blue, and purple energy forms and fired them at Blaziken. "Blaziken, counter that with Flamethrower!" May countered.

"Blaziken!" the starter yelled and shot out a stream of fire to counter.

"Musharna, dodge and manipulate with Psychic!" Hilda extended her arm outward. Musharna moved from the direction Flamethrower was coming from and used Psychic to change the trajectory of Psyshock. The orbs moved away and avoided Flamethrower, they aimed for Blaziken from a different angle and sent the Fire-type flying, but the bird quickly got its composure and landed calmly.

"Psychic attacks won't work so easily on Blaziken, Hilda, you'll need to try harder," May stated with a calm demeanor.

"Don't worry, I will May," Hilda smirked cunningly.

May acknowledged what she said, "Alright Blaziken, use Quick Attack!"

"Musharna, use Psychic to stop Blaziken," Hilda ordered with a neutral tone.

"Stop it with Sand-Attack!" May smirked and commanded, having prepared for this.

Before Musharna could use Psychic, Blaziken kicked a furious amount of dirt at Musharna that blinded the Psychic-type. "Now Blaziken, kick it up a notch with Flare Blitz!"

"Blaz," the starter nodded and charged at Musharna with a fiery speed. The attack hit Musharna head on and sent the Psychic-type flying against a wall.

Hilda gasped and grinded her teeth, realizing that things had just become serious, "That's the last time I fall for that one May, but well-played," Hilda smiled.

"Thanks, there's more where that came from," May grinned at her.

Musharna got up and glared at Blaziken, who only smirked slyly. "Musharna, use Hidden Power!" Hilda commanded with a demanding voice.

The Psychic-type gathered enough energy to create a set of green spheres that were launched at Blaziken. "Dodge that," May instructed and the Fire-type easily avoided the spheres thanks to its fast movement.

"Now use Psychic and hit repeatedly," Hilda instructed and Musharna controlled the spheres however it pleased, stressing Blaziken. May kept instructing Blaziken to dodge, but the starter was getting tired and began getting battered.

May began sweating a little when she saw that she had half a bar while Hilda still had three-fourths. Iris began chewing on her apple more viciously, "This isn't good. May's losing!"

Cilan also knew that things didn't look good, "She needs to come up with something quick or it's over!"

"Pika pika pikachu pi!" Pikachu became stressed and began cheering harder.

Ash got up from his seat and yelled at May, "May, come on, I know you can do this. Don't give up, you're a top coordinator and you're the best coordinator I know, don't let yourself get beaten now. I believe in you more than anyone, you have the strength, just stop stressing and focus. This battle is yours!"

May saw Ash cheering for her, his words touched her. _Ash believes in me, I can't lose like this, he's right, I can do it, I won't lose, I won't let him or anyone down_! May thought in her mind and realized that she had what it took to win.

"Blaziken, use Fire Shield!" May shouted and Blaziken followed the command.

The starter began dodging Hidden Power as best as he could and used Flare Blitz. Blaziken became engulfed in intense flames and became to take the shape of a flaming disk. "You know what to do!" May extended her arm to the left. Blaziken released Flamethrower from inside his fire barrier and shot out like an intense lighting.

The multiple fire streams released shot out like lighting and destroyed Hidden Power. The attack eventually hit Musharna, who was unable to control the incredible power with Psychic and began getting burned by an intense inferno. May knew she had Musharna and Hilda where she wanted now and smiled. Ash also grinned when he saw what move May had used, it was a variation of the Counter Shield, Infernape used and he remembered teaching it to her while on the S.S Kennedy.

Musharna squealed while being burned in Blaziken's fire, "Musharna!" Hilda yelled out in fear.

"Wrap it up Blaziken, use Overheat!" May commanded and her starter shot out its most powerful Overheat at Musharna from within its fire shield. The intense flame enveloped Musharna and made the Pokémon scream in pain.

Blaziken immediately escaped from its shield when it sensed that it was over and the fires vanished. May's strongest Pokémon gently landed on the ground and saw a fainted Musharna, she had swirl eyes on her facing, indicating that it could no longer go on.

The three judges buzzed in and declared Musharna unable to battle. "Musharna is unable to battle, therefore, the victory goes to May and Blaziken from Hoenn!" Jillian announced and the crowd applauded May's victory. It ended just in time because Hilda still had a slight lead on May regarding points and with ten seconds to spare.

"May, you did it, I told you that you could," Ash congratulated his girlfriend from his seat and May blew a kiss at him, making all the other boys jealous.

Cilan, Iris, Axew, and Pikachu danced together in join. "Here you go May, you've earned it," Jillian handed May a black and white ribbon with a golden star as the centerpiece. The star had a small carving of two dragons in it.

"Thank you," May received it and admired the ribbon. She turned to Blaziken and smiled at it, "Good job Blaziken, we did it and we won our first Unova ribbon!" May squealed in joy while Blaziken gave her a half-grin, it was clearly exhausted from a well fought battle. The brunette thanked it and returned it into its Pokeball.

Hilda walked over to May and smiled at her cheerfully. "Well done May, you beat me and you won your first contest in Unova," Hilda congratulated her on first victory.

"Thank you for putting up such a great battle," May thanked her rival and grinned.

* * *

**Later that day…outside the building…**

Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Axew, and Hilda stood outside as people left the building. "So where you gonna go now, Hilda?" May asked her new rival.

"Get some training done, before competing in the next contest that's somewhere by Nacrene City. I need to rethink my strategy so I can beat you," Hilda gave May a confident smile.

"Who says I won't be training," May returned the gesture, but her eyes showed confidence as well. "I look forward to competing against you again," the brunette showed that she enjoyed the clash against Hilda.

"I look forward to it to…well, I should get on my way. Good luck in your gym battle Ash, and goodbye to all of you," Hilda said her goodbyes and ran off in a hurry; she was clearly eager to get training done and get into the next contest.

The entire group waved goodbye to Hilda and the Unova girl waved back at them while giggling happily, the two girls were equally satisfied with how today turned out. May, had found a rival and friend in Hilda and vice versa.

May turned around and faced her friends. May cheered in happiness and posed like Ash while mimicking his voice, "I got my first Unova ribbon!" making the others laugh.

"Very funny May," Ash crossed his arms and glared at her.

The brunette giggled and hugged him, "I'm just kidding Ashy, if you hadn't encouraged me like you did, earlier, than I probably would have lost, thank you for helping me find the strength to fight back," May pecked him on the lips and dug her face in his chest in an adorable fashion.

When May got her face out and smiled at him, the boy grinned, "You're welcome, May, that's what I am here for, to encourage you, look after you and love you." The two blushed at each other and Ash kissed her forehead.

"Awww," Iris couldn't help, but admire true love.

"Love, a dish best served warm," Cilan stated.

The couple stopped embracing each other and just held hands. "Now, time for me to get my first gym badge, Striaton Gym, here I come!" Ash, fist-pumped in the air, he was ready and eager to win his first Unova badge.

**I hope you all enjoyed. How many of you were expecting Hilda? Review about that if you wish. These last two chapters have been filled with character debuts, first N and now Cilan and Hilda. There are many more chapters that will reveal significant characters, so stay tuned for that. By the way, I'm going to post up a Christmas One-shot either tomorrow or Tuesday that focuses on Ash and May, of course, but it won't have any relation to One Love, One Heart, or Advanced Wishes. How many of you excited about that, it'll be my gift to you guys for all your support. Well, got to go, catch ya soon!**


	6. Three Equals Trouble

Chapter 6: Glad You Came

"Behold, the Striaton Gym!" Cilan exclaimed when they got to the front of the building.

May and Iris admired the gym, taking note of its architecture, which was similar to where the contest was held at. Ash and Pikachu could clearly careless though, the pair rushed into the gym, "I'm here for my badge!" Ash yelled in excitement, but became confused when he saw a restaurant, instead of battlefield.

"What gives," Ash scratched the back of his head with a confused look on.

"Is this the gym?" Iris raised an eyebrow.

"It looks more like a restaurant," May stated the obvious.

"Pi?" Pikachu shifted its head slightly as a sign of confusion.

Two waiters approached Ash and his friends, one had blazing red hair and the other had blue water-colored hair. "Good evening, would you like to take a seat," the man with blue hair asked.

"Make them comfortable Chili," Cilan revealed the name of the red-haired waiter.

"Cress, help me take them to their table," Chili revealed the name of the blue-haired waiter.

"Come with us," Cress led the group to a table.

The four kept staring at the three different colored males with puzzled looks. "Would you like anything to order from our menu?" Chili handed menus to the three teens.

"Uuuhhh," Ash stared at the menu with a baffled look.

Iris was just as confused, but skimmed through the menu anyway. May on the other hand, "Oh, oh, I'd like Spaghetti, wait no! Do you have Caesar Salad?" the brunette struggled to pick something from the menu.

Cress looked at Ash and spoke, "Might I recommend some soda pop, it is quite refreshing."

The raven-haired teen still had a perplexed gaze on, but he managed to answer, "Umm, no thanks, I'm not thirsty."

"Then might I recommend ordering a meal from our menu, which has fair prices," Chili suggested with a bright smile.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry either," Ash put the menu to the side.

Chili and Cress kept insisting Ash to order something, anything. Iris saw the annoyed look on Ash's face and knew that the boy would blow up any minute. May continued to look at the menu, still deciding what to eat, she just couldn't refuse food.

"Why don't you order this?" Chili told Ash.

"Or this," Cress added on to Chili's suggestion.

"Or that," Chili kept blabbering.

"Might I suggest eating this," Cress recommended.

When the blabbering reached its peak and Ash stood up. "I don't want any food or drinks; I just want my gym battle!" Ash yelled with a furious tone, catching the attention of everyone else.

Pikachu, May, and Iris became startled when they Ash's anger erupt. "A gym battle!" one of the girls who sat at another table cried out with joy.

"That's what I said, but I'm clearly not getting anywhere like this. C'mon guys, let's go find another gym," Ash walked away with Pikachu while Iris followed him and May reluctantly left the menu.

"Hold it, Ash," Cilan called out and the auburn-eyed teen turned around.

"What?" Ash frowned at the green-haired boy. All of a sudden, the lights dimmed and the trio of waiters came under spotlight.

"If you wanted a gym battle that bad, you should have just said. A fiery temper is not a warm sign of coolness," Chili smiled at Ash slyly.

"We'll be glad to put out that fire with cool, sparkling water," Cress also formed a sly smile.

"Cut the grass and let it grow back, let's start this over," Cilan had a sly smile dancing across his face.

The fan girls in the restaurant were infatuated by the trio who spoke with charming tones. "I'm Chili," the red-haired waiter declared.

"I'm Cress," the blue-haired waiter announced.

"And I'm Cilan," the green-haired waiter proclaimed.

Ash and the rest of the group stared at the trio with confused expressions. "What are they doing?" May raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"We are brothers and together, we are the gym leaders of the Striaton City Gym!" the trio stated simultaneously.

"Three gym leaders that are siblings!" Iris became surprised when she heard that their announcement.

"That's a first," May also became surprised, never had she heard of a gym with three gym leaders.

"Now, let the show begin," the waiters bowed down as the wall behind began to separate, revealing a room with a rocky battlefield.

"Wow," Ash and Pikachu were astonished when they saw the stage, they had never heard of a gym with three gym leaders and they certainly have never been to a gym that was also a restaurant.

Iris saw the fan girls walk up a flight of stairs. "Hey May, follow me, I think I know the perfect spot where we can watch Ash's battle," the purple-haired told the brunette.

"Okay," the sapphire-eyed girl smiled and followed Iris up a flight of stairs while Ash walked with the three gym leaders.

The girls reached the second floor of the building, where they gained a perfect view of the entire field. "This is going to be great," May smiled when she the battlefield.

"I guess," Iris stated, not sure about what May meant, but agreed anyway.

A couple of feet away were 8 fan girls with cheerleading outfits; they were obviously ready to back up the Striaton Gym Leaders.

"Alright Ash, you have to pick which of the three of us you would like to battle against, if you beat any of us then you get the badge. The rules are pretty basic," Cilan explained how things worked in Striaton City's gym.

"Now let us introduce our Pokémon, go Pansear!"Chili threw his Pokeball.

"Panpour, come out!" Cress released his Pokémon.

"Pansage, I choose you," Cilan summoned his Pokémon.

In front of Ash and Pikachu stood three monkey-like Pokémon, one was blue, one was red, and the other was green. They looked almost identical, except for coloration and some other physical features.

"What are those Pokémon?" Ash and May asked the same question at the same time, without even realizing it.

Ash took out his Pokédex and checked what the machine had to say. First he checked Pansear, "Pansear, the High Temp Pokémon. Pansear lives in caves near volcanoes. The temperature on the tuft on its head can reach 600 degrees when it's angry." Ash checked Panpour next, "Panpour, the Spray Pokémon. Panpour lived in forests long ago, but developed a body that makes it easy to live near water. It can store water in the tufts on its head." The black-haired teen checked Pansage last, "Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon. Pansage offers leaves on its head to Pokémon that have low energy. The leaves relieve stress."

"Those are some cool Pokémon, and they all look so strong," Ash smiled as he put his Pokédex away.

The trio thanked the messy-haired boy and Cilan began speaking again, "So Ash, have you decided which one of us you would like to battle?"

Flames were in Ash's eyes when Cilan asked. "I want to battle all three of you," Ash informed the trio. Iris spit out some pieces of the apple she was biting on when she heard Ash's response while May widened her eyes.

_All three of them, why would Ash want to make this harder for himself? Then again, it's so like Ash to do the unexpected and make a challenge out of anything_, May pondered in her mind and smiled when she recalled other moments where Ash would do something like this, he'd never change.

Cress, Cilan, and Chili became amazed when they heard Ash's proposal. Ash and Pikachu looked at the group with eyes that begged for a yes. "Can I please battle against the three of you, I really think battling all of you, would test my abilities to the fullest. I want to become stronger and I know that by doing this, I can become even more skilled, and fighting against all kinds of Pokémon would increase my skills even more," Ash explained the reason for his proposal, which May smiled at, she knew him too well by now.

Iris thought Ash was insane and such a kid by making such a request. _Has he lost it_? Iris thought in her head.

"Pika pi pikachu pi ka!" Pikachu also stepped in and defended Ash's point.

The trio wasn't sure how to answer until Cress came up with an idea, "Why don't we change the rules just for this match. Ash wants to battle the three of us, so if he wins 2 out of the 3 battles then we can give him a badge."

"I like the sound of that," Chili agreed with Cress.

"Then it's settled, Ash we'll battle you," Cilan grinned at his opponent.

"Thank you guys so much, you won't be disappointed when you battle me," Ash made a fist and smiled confidently at the trio.

May and Iris began paying attention once they heard the deal Ash made with the gym leaders. "So if Ash wins 2 out of 3 battles then he gets the badge," May spoke.

"Well, at least he doesn't have to win all three," Iris stated.

"Go Cilan! Go Cress! Go Chili!" the fan girls near Iris and May began cheering, which slightly annoyed the duo.

Ash got on one side of the battlefield and looked down at Pikachu. "Pikachu, can you do me a favor?" the auburn-eyed teen asked his friend.

"Pika!" the mouse basically told the boy to ask away.

"Do you mind sitting this one out? I want to use Pidove, Oshawott, and Tepig for this battle because I really want to test their abilities, is that ok with you?" the raven-haired teen questioned his partner.

"Pikachu," the mouse gave the boy a thumbs up, Pikachu understood that Ash wanted to test his Unova Pokémon's abilities, so it was only fair.

"Thanks pal," Ash grinned at his friend.

Chili was up first and stood on the other side of the battlefield. "Get ready Ash, battling me will leave you fried for sure, Pansear, prepare for battle!" Chili stated and Pansear got on the battlefield.

"We'll just see about that, Tepig, I choose you!" Ash released his pig Pokémon.

Tepig landed in front of Ash and smiled at the boy. "Tepig!" the pig turned to Pansear and blew out some smoke from its nostrils.

"Ready Tepig, don't let me down!" Ash stated as the pair smiled at each other.

"Why would Ash choose a Pokémon that is practically useless against its own type, wouldn't Ash have made a better choice?" Iris said, surprised by Ash's tactics.

"Ash has done these things for as long as I can remember, he always makes his Pokémon go up against a Pokémon they have a type disadvantage against, but he manages to pull through despite those odds," May explained Ash's habit of picking a Pokémon that has a disadvantage, but said the boy won anyway. Iris had her doubts during May's explanation and wondered if Ash could really win this.

"Ash, I'm impressed. Most people don't have the same kind of guts as you when it comes to battling, a Fire-type vs. a Fire-type should have an interesting result," Chili grinned at his opponent.

"I'm looking forward to it too Chili, Tepig use Tackle!" Ash instructed.

"Pansear, use Dig!" Chili smiled when he made his command.

Pansear went underground and Tepig missed his target. Unfortunately, Pansear sprang out as fast as it had gone underground. The Fire-type sent Tepig flying, the pig Pokémon had clearly taken a hard hit.

"Tepig, you can do it, get up!" Ash encouraged his fire Pokémon.

Tepig got up, but Chili made another command, "Send it back down with Fire Punch!"

"Dodge!" Ash told his Pokémon. Pansear used Fire Punch and tried to hit Tepig in an aggressive fashion. The fire starter managed to dodge it in time and the fire monkey's hand got stuck in the dirt because of how hard the punch was.

Ash smiled, "Tepig, this is our chance, use Tackle!"

The pig charged at Pansear and sent the monkey flying towards a boulder.

"Pansear, get it together!" Chili ordered and the monkey stopped itself from crashing against the rock.

"Chili, use as many techniques and combinations as possible, this won't be easy," Cress warned Chili when he saw that Ash had some fight in him.

The red-haired teen nodded and ordered a "Flamethrower!"

"Tepig, dodge it and use Tackle!" Ash ordered.

Tepig successfully dodged the Flamethrower, but Ash noticed that Pansear had disappeared. "Now!" Chili yelled out and Pansear sprang out of the ground quickly, without giving Ash or Tepig a chance to counter.

The pig began flying across the stage and crashed into a boulder. "Go Chili, go Pansear! Show them what fire can do!" the cheerleaders moved their pompons around.

Iris bit her apple nervously and spoke, "This is bad, at this rate, Ash and Tepig are going to lose!"

"I wouldn't worry, Ash will come up with something," May assured Iris that Ash would win, the brunette was a little nervous too, but she had seen Ash come out on top so many times that she believed that he could win this one too.

"Ash, your bread is toast. I recommend you end it now, I don't want to burn your hopes into ashes," Chili smirked cunningly at his opponent.

"I don't think so," Ash responded.

Chili sighed, "Have it your way. Pansear, go underground again!"

Then monkey went underground and Ash began grinding his teeth, _this is not good, I need to think of something fast_. The auburn-eyed teen observed his surroundings and took note of all the holes dug up by Pansear.

_Perfect_, Ash smiled confidently and announced his next command, "Tepig, use Ember on one of Pansear's holes to flush him out!"

Tepig leapt into the air and shot out Ember, aiming it into one of Pansear's holes. The trio became surprised with Ash's unexpected tactic and saw fire go underground. Not long after, Pansear jumped out with its behind on fire.

"Pansear!" the monkey yelled out.

The Fire-type ran around the field, trying to find a way to put out the fire. "Tepig, finish this with Tackle!" Ash yelled out with excitement in his voice.

"Pansear, use Flamethrower!" Chili instructed and the fire monkey ignored the pain he felt so he could unleash the stream of fire.

"Tepig, charge right through it, don't hold back. Give it everything you've got!" Ash told Tepig and the pig followed his instructions.

"What is Ash doing?" Iris felt anxious inside when she heard Ash tell Tepig to charge right through the fire.

"Winning," May gave the girl a one word answer with a grin across her face.

"Is the boy trying to lose the match?" Cress became confused.

"I don't know," Cilan was just as puzzled.

Chili smiled confidently as Tepig charged right at them. The smiles began to slowly vanish though, because Tepig was breaking through the entire stream of fire by just charging forward. "That's it Tepig, keep going!" Ash encouraged his Fire-type.

Tepig ran even faster and completely broke through Flamethrower, hitting Pansear and sending the monkey crashing against a rock, which broke in the process. "Teeepig!" the pig let some smoke out its nostrils.

"Pansear is unable to battle; the first victory goes to Ash!" Cilan declared.

Tepig ran over to Ash and Pikachu. The pig was warmly received by his friends, "Tepig, you did it, that was a great job!" Ash praised Tepig's battle while Pikachu patted the pig as a form of congratulations.

Chili returned Pansear and smiled at Ash, "Well done Ash, you one the first part, but you still need one more battle to win your badge."

Ash grinned at Chili confidently, "I'll win that one too!"

Cress walked over to Chili's former position and smiled cunningly, "We'll just see about that," the blue-haired brother stated.

"One down, one to go," Iris became relieved after seeing Ash win.

"Yeah, and Ash will win that one too," May smiled, the sapphire-eyed girl was certain that her boyfriend would win.

The cheerleaders sighed when they saw one of their idols get defeated, but quickly gained back their spirits when Cress took Chili's place.

"I won't be any easier than Chili, Ash, so be ready, go Panpour!" Cress warned his opponent and summoned his Water-type onto the field.

"Don't think I'll hold anything back either, I'm still pretty sure that I am going to win, Pidove, you're up," Ash warned Cress as well and released his Flying-type Pokémon.

"Okay, Ash's choice makes more sense this time, the battle can go either way now," Iris stated when she saw that none of the two battlers had an advantage over the other.

"Pidove, start off with Air Cutter!" Ash commanded.

"Panpour, use Double Team," Cress ordered calmly. Panpour multiplied and Air Cutter only managed to hit copies. Cress smiled smugly, "Now let's test Pidove's speed. Use Water Gun, Panpour!" Cress commanded the multiple Panpour copies.

"Dodge it!" Ash extended his arm out.

Panpour shot out streams of water that Pidove was barely able to dodge; it was like trying to swat a fly. "Impressive, but play time is over, Panpour, use Mud Sport!" Cress complimented Pidove's speed, but became serious. Panpour raised its arms in the air and slammed them on the ground, creating wave of mud that reached Pidove's altitude.

Ash wasn't sure how could avoid Mud Sport, but he had to do something, "Pidove, trying cutting through it with Air Cutter!"

Pidove released the attack anxiously, but the mud was too thick to break. Panpour's wave of mud eventually flew on Pidove and brought the bird crashing down against the floor. "Now is my chance, Panpour use Scratch!" Cress pointed at Pidove when he made the command.

"Pidove, escape before, Panpour hits you with Scratch!" Ash became frustrated and grinded his teeth.

Pidove tried to get up and fly away, but too much mud was on its feathers. The weight of the mud was too heavy for the light-weight Pokémon to get up. Panpour eventually reached Pidove and scratched the bird furiously.

The bird fell back down. Ash continued to get frustrated while Cress grinned cunningly. "Go Cress, go Panpour! Wet those guys!" the poor excuse for cheerleaders yelled.

Iris continued to glare at the annoying group and went back to watching the battle; the brown-eyed girl became worried when she saw Pidove get pushed around by Panpour.

_Ash is losing…_May grinded her teeth and made a fist, this might Ash's first legitimate defeat in Unova.

"Pidove, fly away and then use Quick Attack!" Ash made a fist and commanded his Flying-type.

Pidove managed to fly away this time since a good amount of mud got off its feathers. The bird flew back into the air and charged back at Panpour with full speed. Cress chuckled, "Your chances of victory have become soaked. Prepare to drown in your defeat, Panpour use Double Team!" Cress commanded with an arrogant tone.

Pidove's attack missed since it hit a copy and the other Panpour snickered at the bird's miss. "Finish it with Water Gun!" Cress ordered.

"Dodge, Pidove!" Ash cried out.

Pidove dodged several streams of water, but the mud on its wings slowed it down and the barrage of Water Gun eventually hit the bird. Pidove was sent crashing against a boulder and dropped on the ground like a stone.

"Pidove is unable to battle, the victory goes to Cress!" Cilan declared.

Ash ran towards Pidove and held the bird in its arms. The bird cooed with a sad tone as the boy gave it a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry we couldn't win Pidove, but you did great anyway. I don't think anyone could have fought better against Panpour than you."

Pidove smiled at its trainer and Ash returned it, thanking it for its effort. "That was good battle Ash, but if you want to win this last battle, you'll need to try harder," Cress gave the boy a suggestion.

Ash nodded, he knew that he had to give it his all during the last battle. The cheerleaders cheered for Cress when he was declared the winner, angering Iris and May even more. "This is it, the last battle, this one will decide if Ash gets his badge or not," Iris spoke intensely.

May sighed after witnessing Ash's first defeat in a long time, but managed to form a smile across her face. "Ash may have lost against Cress, but now that the stakes are so high now, I'm sure he'll win this time, I know Ash won't back down with an all-out fight," May said with an optimistic view of Ash's last battle.

"This is going to be interesting," Iris smiled and looked at Axew.

"Axew," the Dragon-type agreed with its trainer.

Cilan stood where Cress and Chili stood. "Alright Ash, you beat Chili, but lost to Cress. That means this last battle is for all the marbles so are you ready?"

Ash reached for his Pokeball and smiled confidently, "You bet."

"Well then, here goes, Pansage, come on out!" Cilan released his Grass-type Pokémon.

"Oshawott, I choose you!" Ash summoned the otter Pokémon.

"What, why did he pick Oshawott, Pansage is a Grass-type?" Chili became confused.

"It is puzzling," Cress admitted, not sure what to expect.

"That doesn't make sense, does Ash want to lose?" Iris held on to apple tightly, making some juice from apple come out because of how anxious she was.

May had a grin on her look, "That's what Ash usually does, sometimes he'll pick a Pokémon with a disadvantage against his opponent because he feels like he knows what he's doing and I trust Ash's decisions because of seen him do this many times before. Ash is going to win, despite the type disadvantage," the sapphire-eyed girl made a fist.

Oshawott stood in front of Ash with a proud look on his face until he saw Pansage. The Grass-type gave the otter a frightening look and made the sea otter hide behind Ash. Oshawott tried to push Pikachu in front so he would battle Pansage, instead.

Ash sighed and placed Oshawott back on the battlefield. The auburn-eyed teen placed his hand on the Water-type's shoulder and spoke, "Oshawott, you don't have to be afraid. You are one of the strongest Pokémon I have and that's why I feel like you're perfect for this battle; you have the strength to beat Pansage. I saw how capable you were when you saved Pikachu and Axew from Team Rocket a week ago and you impressed me even more when you saved me from boiling water with Water Gun back at the spa. I knew that you had potential in you and that's why I believe you can win now."

"Pika pi pikachu!" Pikachu encouraged his friend as well.

Oshawott turned to Pansage and knew that he had to win. "Osha oshaaa oshawott!" the Water-type Pokémon spoke proudly and crossed his arms.

"That's the spirit Oshawott," Ash smiled at his friend and walked back to his position.

"Alright Ash, ready you're not. Here I come, Pansage, use Bullet Seed!" Cilan commanded.

"Oshawott, block that with Razor Shell!" Ash instructed.

Oshawott reached for Scalchop and turned the shell into a sword composed of blue energy. Pansgae's Bullet Seed shot out rapidly, but Oshawott's quick movements managed to block the seeds.

"Well played, but you'll need more than that! Pansage mobilize while using Bullet Seed!" Cilan instructed.

The green monkey began running around the field in circles, confusing Oshawott and became unable to block all of Pansage's seeds this time. "Oshawott, get it together!" Ash ordered.

"Close in for Bite and send Oshawott flying!" Cilan extended his arm outward.

Pansage moved in and bit Oshawott, making the otter cry out in pain. The monkey then sent the otter Pokémon flying towards a rock. "Oshawott, use Water Gun to stop!" Ash demanded.

His Water-type Pokémon got a hold of itself and used Water Gun to decelerate the speed it had been launched at. The otter hit the ground without any damage and glared at Pansage.

"Oshawott, charge at Pansage with Tackle!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Oshawott began running toward Pansage, but Cilan had other plans, "Stop Oshawott with Bullet Seed!"

"Oshawott charges forward while using your scalchop as a shield!" Ash did some quick thinking and learned how to handle Bullet Seed.

Oshawott began charging at Pansage while using his scalchop as a shield. The seeds flew everywhere until Oshawott finally reached Pansage and hit the monkey with full power.

Cilan gasped when he saw Pansage fly and break through multiple rocks. Iris, Chili, Cress, and the cheerleaders were also amazed by the amount of power unleashed. May was the only who watched with a calm expression, "Ash has this under control, just a few more hits and it's over," the brunette mentioned.

Pansage groaned while it got up and glared at Oshawott, who just smiled at the monkey slyly. "Time to spice things up, this should cut through your roots and give me a sweet victory, Pansage, use Solarbeam!" Cilan extended his arm out happily, the gym leader was certain about beating Ash.

The monkey Pokémon charged up a Solarbeam through its tuft and yelled when it unleashed the attack, "Pansage!" Cilan's Pokémon cried out.

Ash, Pikachu, Iris, and May's eyes widened when they saw the impending blast. "Oshawott, deflect that!" Ash yelled out.

"Oshawott!" the starter cried out and used its scalchop once more, to defend itself from the incoming attack.

Oshawott held the Solarbeam back with its shell and deflected it back at Pansage. "What?!" Cilan screamed with surprise while everyone else watched with shock as well.

Solarbeam hit Pansage and sent the monkey flying, landing on the ground. "Pansage, please get up," Cilan told his loyal Pokémon. The cheerleaders clearly looked sad when they saw Pansage groaning while Iris remained impressed.

The monkey groaned as it stood up again while Cilan turned to Ash and Oshawott, smiling at them. "You know Ash, at first I found your strategies bland and dull, they lacked color, but I guess I misjudged you. The way you have put Oshawott's scalchop into use fascinates me, but I am sorry to say that the bond I have with Pansage is much stronger than you and Oshawott. Besides, it wasn't very smart of you to pick a Pokémon with a type disadvantage that will only aid in your defeat. Therefore, as a Pokémon Connoisseur, I have the right to believe that we will come out as the winners because we have all the perfect ingredients for a delicious victory. Pansage is the best Pokémon battler ever!" Cilan praised his persistent monkey.

Iris and May glared at him from a distance. "May be this guy is a little too cocky," Iris stated.

Ash frowned at his opponent, "Oh yeah, I'll prove to you that type advantages and disadvantages don't determine the victory, it's the bond of the Pokémon and trainer that does. I'll show you that Oshawott and I have a deep enough connection to beat you!" The auburn-eyed teen told his opponent.

"Then prove it, Pansage, use Bullet Seed, but I find a way to break through Oshawott's defense in the process," Cilan pointed at the otter.

Pansage released its attack and Oshawott prepared to defend itself with the scalchop. This time though, Pansage didn't aim directly at Oshawott, but for the hand that held the scalchop. Pansage's attack caused Oshawott to throw the shell upward in pain. The shell landed some feet away from Oshawott and Cilan began smiling cunningly, "Perfect, now that it doesn't have a defense, Pansage use Solarbeam one more time!"

"Oshawott, go fetch your shell, quick!" Ash exclaimed.

The otter ran to get the shell, but then Pansage used Bullet Seed while still charging the Solarbeam. Cilan smiled as Oshawott tried to get its scalchop, but Bullet Seed kept hitting the otter and sending it back, "You're not going to get that shell so easily."

Ash grinded his teeth, without Oshawott's scalchop, he knew they couldn't stand much of a chance. He was sure what to do until someone called out to him, "Ash!"

"May?" the boy turned to his girlfriend, wondering what was up.

"Ash, you can do this. After seeing you beat my dad, the other Hoenn Gym Leaders, and the Frontier Brains, I know you can beat Cilan too. Just clear your thoughts like you tell me and think of a strategy, I know you can do this because I've known you long enough to know that this isn't the worst situation you've been in. I believe in you Ash, more than anyone, you can do it!" May encouraged her lover to fight back;_ he can still win this,_ she thought._  
_

Ash looked into May's sapphire eyes and began thinking, _she's right there's still a way to win this, but how_? The auburn-eyed teen analyzed his surroundings and stopped when he saw the wall, _that's it_!

"Oshawott, use Water Gun on the wall!" Ash commanded.

"What is Ash doing?" Iris became confused.

"What will he gain by using Water Gun on the wall?" Cress asked no one in particular.

"It looks like he has one more trick up his sleeve," Chili pointed out.

Oshawott became confused by the command, but Ash urged him to do it, "Just listen to me!"

"Oshawott," the otter nodded and used Water Gun on the wall, causing the stream of water to bounce off and hit rocks, from which it bounced off of and hit Oshawott's scalchop. The shell flew in the air and Ash made another command, "Catch it!"

Cilan, his brothers, Iris, and the cheerleaders all had their mouths opened because of the shock. "Quick Pansage, finish it!" Cilan instructed. Pansage nodded and released Solarbeam in a desperate attempt to stop Oshawott.

"Deflect it!" Ash extended his arm to the right.

Oshawott deflected the attack once again, hitting Pansage yet again. Cilan gasped, "No, Pansage get up!"

"Finish it with Razor Shell!" Ash shouted.

Oshawott ran at full speed towards Pansage and hit the monkey with his shell. The otter slashed past his opponent and smirked confidently while Pansage dropped to the ground for good this time.

"Pansage is unable to battle; the victor of the match is Ash! With two victories, Ash is the winner of the entire match!" Chili announced.

The cheerleaders began crying and left the place after witnessing the defeat of their idols. Ash ran to Oshawott with Pikachu, "Oshawott, you did it, I'm so proud of you, you helped me win my first badge!" Ash thanked his friend and Pikachu also congratulated his companion.

Cilan returned Pansage and grinned at Ash, "Well done Ash, you beat me and you proved that you are the better one between the two of us. Thank you, for such a great battle."

Ash got up and smiled at Cilan, "It was no problem Cilan. I really enjoyed battling against the three of you."

"And here's your badge," Cress handed over the Trio Badge to Ash.

Ash happily received the badge and posed, "Alright, I got the Trio Badge!" Pikachu and Oshawott jumped in front of the boy to further emphasize the happy moment.

"Ash won, he did it, he won his first badge," Iris became relieved when she the boy win and smiled, Ash had impressed her today with his creative, yet unorthodox techniques, but she began to believe that Ash truly was a good trainer.

"I knew he could do it, he always pulls through," May smiled as she watched her boyfriend dance with Pikachu and Oshawott.

The two girls went down to where the gym leaders and Ash were. May ran up to him and hugged him tightly, "I told you that you could do it." Ash started to feel warm inside when he felt May's embrace.

"May, thank you for the encouragement. I wasn't sure what to do until you helped me out, thank you for that," Ash ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead.

"You encouraged me at the contest, I felt like the student should encourage the teacher this time," May stated and giggled.

While still holding May, Ash turned to Iris, "Did you see that Iris, I won, still think I'm a kid?" the raven-haired teen teased his friend.

"Actually yeah, not only did you make, getting the badge harder, but you almost lost. Do you know how embarrassing it would've been if you lost, you would've lost the challenge you started in the first place," Iris taunted Ash, she was happy that Ash had won, but she didn't want to boost his ego.

"Well if you think I am such a kid, then let's battle and see who the bigger person is," Ash frowned at her, would he ever convince the wild girl that he wasn't a child.

Iris snickered at Ash and gave him a smug smile, "Well alright, I'm I can beat you."

Before the argument could escalate, Cilan and May intervened. "Hey, let's cool it. Ash won his badge and we should just be happy for him," Cilan stated while staring at Iris, he was clearly talking to Iris when he mentioned it.

"Cilan is right, Ash. Let's just enjoy the moment, I won my first Unova ribbon and you won your first Unova badge," May hugged Ash tighter as a sign of affection and the boy let out a deep breath. Iris was Ash's version of Max, despite them being the same age.

"You're right May, I'm sorry," Ash smiled as he held the girl, he placed his face on her head and could smell the strawberry-scented shampoo May used during her showers or baths. Everyone smiled at each other, today worked out great, May won her first Unova contest and Ash obtained his first Unova badge. Little did they know that there were some other workings going on near Striaton City…

**I hope you enjoyed it, even though it wasn't as creative as the other chapters. I tried to make this chapter as Advanceshippy as possible, but it was a little harder than I thought since the whole episode was a gym battle. I even changed some things to make it a bit more interesting. I won't be updating for two weeks because I'm traveling so I'll see you then. By the way, I'll post up one more one-shot for New Year's Eve, but it will be much shorter than the Christmas one. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and have a wonderful New Year's! **


	7. Rising Menace

Chapter 7: Chasing Pavements

"This is a very healthy Pikachu, you have, I'll heal it with the other Pokémon in no time," Nurse Joy stated after receiving Pikachu as well as Ash and May's other Pokémon.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Ash smiled at the friendly nurse.

May and Iris saw an Audino receive Pikachu and the other Pokémon, then they saw the Normal-type heal Pikachu and the others in the same fashion as the Audino from the Pokémon Center they visited after defeating Team Rocket, thanks to Oshawott.

As Audino played her part in the recovery of the Pokémon, Nurse Joy turned to the trio, specifically Ash. "So, are you here to participate in the Striaton Gym?" the pink-haired woman asked.

"Actually," Ash prepared to respond, but was suddenly cut off by someone else.

"That's already been checked and finished," the voice stated and the trio turned around, the voice turned out to be Cilan.

"Cilan, what are you doing here?" Ash looked at the Gym Leader with a puzzled expression, along with Iris and May.

Cilan gave the group a sly smile, "I needed to talk to you and May about something."

"Wonder what it could be?" Iris asked her Axew, wondering what Cilan could want with the couple.

"Axew ax," the Dragon-type answered and shrugged its shoulders, Axew was also uncertain about what Cilan could want.

May and Ash raised their eyebrows, but they didn't see why not. "Sure Cilan, what can we help you with?" May inquired as the green-haired male walked over to them.

"We would be happy to help," Ash added to what May said.

Cilan cleared his throat and grabbed their hands, "First let me thank you for the experience you've given me during your stay in Striaton City, you've made me realize things that I have never questioned before and that's what I am here to discuss!"The boy's cilantro-colored eyes glistened with gratitude.

Ash and May smiled sheepishly while Iris kept wondering about what they could have done to make Cilan, be so grateful towards them. "First, I want both of you to explain how you've managed to overcome type disadvantages. It's very rare to hear of a Water-type defeating a Grass-type or a Fighting-type defeating a Psychic-type! Please, you also have to tell me about how you've managed to learn combination attacks like the ones I saw or even how you've managed to use Water Gun for such unorthodox techniques. Is it a result of the love you two share or is it because the relationship with your Pokémon is more than meets the eye? Oh please, I have to know, my throat thirsts for knowledge!" Cilan trampled them with multiple questions and statements.

May chuckled nervously, not knowing how to answer. Ash on the other hand, became slightly annoyed with the bickering and was left unable to respond to Cilan's inquires.

"Excuse me," Nurse Joy called the group, interrupting Cilan in the process.

May turned to the nurse and asked, "Yes, Nurse Joy?"

"You're Pokémon have fully recovered and are ready to be returned," Nurse Joy replied as Audino handed the Pokeballs.

Ash and May happily put their Pokeballs away while Pikachu got on Ash's shoulder in a joyful manner, "Pika!"

The raven-haired teen looked at him and spoke, "Ready to go, pal?"

The mouse nodded, but before anyone could say anything, a frantic young woman entered the Pokémon Center. "Nurse Joy, are the Pokémon alright, is everyone safe?" The woman with glasses asked with a high-pitched voice. She wore a lab coat and had dark, blue hair. A Munna hovered by her side and resembled its evolved form in many ways, from its color to round shape.

"Fennel, what's going on?" Nurse Joy asked the female scientist.

"Who are you?" May questioned the woman with glasses.

Fennel turned to the group and spoke with a friendly tone, "I'm Professor Fennel, and I'm a Pokémon Scientist living here in Striaton City, studying the concept of dreams and its relation to Pokémon like Munna." The woman turned to the Psychic-type Pokémon.

"The study of dreams and Pokémon, that sounds pretty cool," Iris stated.

"What seems to be the problem, professor?" Cilan asked the young woman.

Fennel's friendly tone changed to a stern way, the moment Cilan asked her about the problem. "Come with me and I'll show you," Professor Fennel stated and guided the group outside.

Outside, the entire group became shocked when they saw Striaton City covered in a pink mist, roaming all over the urban area. "What happened? It wasn't like this, 30 minutes ago," Ash formed a concerned look on his face.

"This mist doesn't look welcoming," May spoke with a worried tone while inching a little closer to Ash in case things get serious.

"I've seen this type of mist before, but I'm not sure if it's from the same source," Fennel said with concern in her voice.

"Do you have any idea why this is happening or where it's coming from?" Iris asked with anxiety. Axew stared at the majestic, yet terrifying mist and hid in Iris's hair.

Fennel gazed at the mist and turned to Ash. "This mist has the ability to place your Pokémon in a deep slumber that might take weeks to wake up from, I recommend you return Pikachu to its Pokeball before things get any worse," Professor Fennel suggested.

"But Pikachu doesn't like being in a Pokeball, I don't think I'd like to put return him there either," Ash explained the situation to Fennel.

"Ash, you should probably do what Professor Fennel says, none of us want to get in more dire situation," Cilan sided with Professor Fennel.

The auburn-eyed teen wasn't sure what to do; he looked at Pikachu, who clearly didn't like the sound of being inside a Pokeball. May noticed the angst in their faces and came up with an idea.

"I know," May snapped her fingers and took Ash's hat.

Ash stared at her with a confused gaze, "What are you doing, May?"

May didn't answer him and simply placed Ash's hat on Pikachu. Little flakes from the mist dropped down on Pikachu, but the hat was able to block any chance of placing Pikachu in a sleeping state.

"That was a great idea!" Iris cheered when she realized what May had done. Professor Fennel and Cilan agreed with the purple-haired girl.

"Your hat will be able to protect Pikachu from the mist, so now you don't have to return Pikachu to its Pokeball!" May giggled and smiled at her boyfriend.

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu cheerfully thanked his friend.

"Thanks May, you really are the best," Ash stroked her hair tenderly as a thank you.

May blushed a little, but winked at Ash, "It's no big deal."

"I think the pink mist is originating from the Dreamyard, it's the only logical area where this disaster could be coming from, if you kids want to help, then don't hesitate to get into my car," Fennel informed the group of teenagers.

They all nodded, they all had the intention of helping out. In the car, Fennel drove as they began to discuss the spontaneous incident.

"Professor, why do you believe this mist is coming from the Dreamyard, I thought it was left to crumble years ago," Cilan pointed out.

"That's true, but there's more to it. Years ago there was an explosion at the Dreamyard that left it in ruins, but before that happened…I worked there. For half a decade I worked with other scientists and a Musharna, in hopes of converting the dream energy, Musharna produced, into clean, renewable, usable energy, but before we could finalize our task, it was all destroyed. Around the time when we were at the point of success, some greedy men in black coats infiltrated the lab and planned to harness Musharna's energy in unspeakable ways. None of us were able to hold off the men in black, but as a last resort, Musharna released a massive amount of energy that caused the explosion, which ended up destroying the Dreamyard. Musharna's attempt to stop them worked, but she was never seen again until today…" Professor Fennel recollected memories of her time as a scientist at the Dreamyard.

"So you believe this is Musharna's doing?" Ash questioned the woman.

"There is no other Pokémon miles from here with that kind of capability, Musharna is the only logical explanation for this, but why would she do this, is the question now," Fennel answered the boy's question.

May was the only whose mind was on something else Professor Fennel stated, _Men in black coats? Could it be? I don't think so, the Dreamyard explosion happened years ago and the men in black we know are just appearing, they must be different_, May thought about the possibility of a connection between the Majestic 12 and the Dreamyard Disaster, but quickly dismissed it.

"After Musharna disappeared, I quit my attempts in creating renewable energy and dedicated the rest of my career to studying the relation between dreams and Pokémon. I knew that if Musharna ever created that same dream energy again, then another set of bad guys would be after it, just so they could use it for horrible things like chemical warfare," Fennel went on about the aftermath of the Dreamyard incident.

Fennel stopped her car and spoke, "We're here." Everyone exited the vehicle and became astonished by the debris lying around, buildings were crumbling and there was hardly anything left of the experiments conducted in the labs. The steel that supported the structures was rusting; the buildings were clearly going to fall apart anytime soon.

"This place is kind of creepy," May said as she held Ash's hand, the area resembled one of those post-apocalyptic zones she had seen in movies.

"The Dreamyard has been left to rot, it's no surprise that it's ended up like this," Cilan looked around.

The group kept walking and Ash eventually spotted a group of people with a machine resembling a satellite in the distance. "Hey, there are some people over there," Ash pointed out.

Fennel and the others spotted them and ran forward. When they got closer, they saw a group of men and women (4) dressed in a black militaristic uniform. Black bandanas covered their mouths and they wore black caps that a soldier in the army would usually wear with a white X on the front. The insignia on their military vests was all too familiar though, but it also left them confused.

The machine they stood by also had the same insignia and wandered the area while emitting some rays that caused the zone to become highlighted in pink. "All residual energy on the surface has been collected, let's progress," a male operative with the machine's remote stated.

One of the female operatives turned around glared at them, "We've got company."

The other male member chuckled, "These are the kids wandering Unova, giving bad guys a hard time, nonetheless, we'll be able to handle them."

"Team Plasma, what are you doing here?" Ash yelled while glaring at them.

"Why are they wearing different uniforms, I thought all villainous teams had one set of clothing," May said, finding it a bit strange.

Another man emerged from behind the four members of Team Plasma. "Correction, it's Team Neo Plasma." He had green hair with a red, eye patch-like item covering his right eye. The man also wore a black coat that reached to his neck with eye designs on it and carried a cane with the Team Plasma insignia.

"Neo Plasma?" Iris became confused by the remark.

"It doesn't matter who you are, are you aware of the trouble going on in Striaton City because of your criminal activities?" Fennel frowned at them.

The green-haired man chuckled and glared at the group, "We are, and we are deeply sorry for the chaos, but this is something that must be done."

"Would you care to tell us, who all of you are?" Cilan frowned at the green-haired man who seemed to be leading the Team Neo Plasma crooks.

"I'd be delighted, my name is Ghetsis. I'm one of the sages who compose Team Neo Plasma. I'm second in command to a man by the name of Colress. Together we run Team Neo Plasma and travel around Unova, doing what is necessary, harnessing the power of all Pokémon to create powerful energy that is capable of bringing balance to a primitive and senseless world," Ghetsis introduced himself and stated the ideals of Team Neo Plasma.

"So, you just go out and disrupt society in order to create a more beneficial society through criminal activity," Fennel gave the group a dirty look.

"I see it as necessary activity," Ghetsis smiled smugly.

"Wait, I thought N ran Team Plasma, who's Colress and what's with the change of wardrobe?" May asked Ghetsis, recalling the moment when N introduced himself in Accumula Town.

"That's what I was thinking," Ash mentioned with the same curiosity.

Ghetsis continued smiling smugly, "Poor naïve children, you certainly don't live up to your reputation, but no need to wonder. Your questions are to be answered if you can beat these grunts." The green-haired man walked down a set of hidden stairs in the ground with the four members of Team Neo Plasma. Ghetsis snapped his fingers and two male members of Team Neo Plasma and two male members of Team Rocket appeared.

The gang became alerted when they saw Team Rocket members standing beside Team Neo Plasma members. "Team Rocket's here too!" May exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Are they working together or something?" Iris became startled with what she saw.

"That doesn't matter right now, first we have to battle," Cilan declared.

Ash nodded, "Cilan's right, there's no time to think right now, we have to battle them."

"Alright then, Munna, let's go!" Professor Fennel ordered.

Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan followed her lead. Ash used Pikachu while May used Blaziken, Iris used Axew, and Cilan used Pansage. Fennel teamed up with Iris to get the job done quicker while the more experienced trainers battled solo.

Ash went up against a Plasma member who used a Sandile. "I'm going to bring you down, kid," the man chuckled.

"Keep thinking that," Ash grinned smugly.

"Sandile, use Sand Tomb!" The Plasma member ordered as Sandile released a tornado of sand with the intention of trapping Pikachu.

The Sand Tomb rushed at a high-speed, but Ash had it covered. "Pikachu, dodge with Agility and then use Quick Attack," the black-haired teen commanded.

Pikachu easily dodged Sand Tomb and rushed at Sandile; the croc was hit head on and crashed against a building. The Sandile's owner grinded his teeth from behind his bandana when he saw what happened, "Let's play it that way then."

"Sandile, use Dig!" The Plasma member ordered and his Pokémon went underground.

"Pikachu, we've been in this situation many times, you know what to do," Ash smirked confidently.

"Pi," Pikachu nodded with a cocky grin.

Suddenly, Sandile burst out from underneath, but Pikachu dodged it with ease and used Iron Tail. "Piiiikaaa," Pikachu said and motioned his tail like a bat, sending Sandile flying against the ground. Sandile was down for the count.

The man glared at Ash, "Darn it." He looked around and saw that his comrades were also defeated with almost complete ease.

"We've been defeated, retreat!" A Rocket member said and the four ran into the woods that surrounded the Dreamyard.

"That was light work, right Ash?" May winked at him and the boy returned the gesture, the criminals had obviously been no match for the superior battlers.

Cilan brought them back to the more serious situation though, "Team Rocket is a Kanto-based criminal organization, they've been causing lots of trouble lately, but I wonder what's brought them here."

"And what's caused them to team up with another criminal organization," Ash added on to what Cilan said.

"The lust for power, it is as simple as that," a voice came from nowhere.

They all turned around and saw Archer of the Majestic 12, coming out from a dark portal. Ash and May quickly got their Pokémon ready for battle; they learned that any member of the Majestic 12 was not to be underestimated.

"Who are you?" Iris asked, becoming frustrated with all the strangers popping up.

"You're friends will answer that question later," Archer spoke with a neutral turn, but his gaze was still on Ash and May.

May glared at him, "What do you want, are you working with those crooks too?"

"You'll have to learn that yourself, young lady," Archer pointed his finger at her and smiled deviously.

Ash got between them and glared at Archer, "Get out of here or else."

"I didn't come to look for a fight; I just came to tell you that Team Rocket and Team Neo Plasma have united to become an unstoppable force that not you, your girlfriend, or N can stop. They have more power than you think and they have made some formidable alliances, the Majestic 12 will be amazed if you manage to even stop their current activity," Archer informed them with a vague message.

"That is exactly what we plan to do, I don't care how much power any of you have," Ash assured Archer that they'd put a stop to their plans.

Archer chuckled, "A valiant act, but foolish."

"Hey, you said that not even N can't stop them, I thought N was part of Team Plasma," May pointed out.

The turquoise-haired man smirked at her, "There's more to all this than you think, I'll let Ghetsis give you the remaining details, for now be on the lookout for Team Rocket, Team Plasma, Team Neo Plasma, or even us, you never know when the next strike will be." Archer formed a sly smile and left the group baffled, the Majestic 12 member abandoned them after escaping through the same dark portal he came from.

Ash, May, and the others were all confused. _What is going on, how they know so much_, Ash thought in his mind.

_What did Ghetsis mean when he said reputation, was Archer warning us of an even greater threat, how is this all connected_, May wondered as she felt an intense feeling surge inside her.

Their minds were eventually caught by the machine Team Neo Plasma left on the surface, it was still operating and for some reason, it was now shooting at the group with blue lasers.

"Quick, someone has to destroy that machine!" Iris yelled.

Cilan leaped in, "Pansage use," but was suddenly cut by Fennel.

"Stay back Cilan, I have this one under control. Munna, use Confusion!" Fennel ordered and Munna made the machine glow blue, and then launched it towards a building with its psychic powers. Team Neo Plasma's machine blew up on contact.

Ash put aside his thoughts regarding what Archer said and knew they had to get going. "C'mon, we have to after Ghetsis!"

They all agreed and went down the stairs Ghetsis took. They ran through a basement filled with rusty machinery and wires tangling. The basement of the Dreamyard was all that is left of the facility.

"Where do we go now?" May looked around with a concerned look.

"I think I know where they went, follow me," Fennel stated and led the way.

They eventually entered a room that started growing grass; moss was covering up all the machinery. Up ahead was Ghetsis, with three familiar faces. "Ghetsis give it up," Ash demanded as he got in front of the group with Pikachu's cheeks starting to spark.

"This stops now, we're going to put you in your place," May frowned at him and stood beside Ash.

"We'll handle this one," James popped from behind Ghetsis.

"We've been dealing with these twerps for years, we know what to do," Jessie popped out as well.

"Will shut tem fur good," Meowth also appeared.

"Stop, not yet, focus on obtaining Musharna's energy," Ghetsis commanded.

The Rocket trio had confused faces, but agreed. Meowth revealed a weak Musharna to the group with a needle attached to it, which was sucking away its energy and transferring it to a container.

"You three need to get involved in another social circle because we're getting tired of seeing you around!" Iris glared at them after yelling.

Munna yelled out to Musharna, who groaned in pain as Team Rocket sucked its energy. "Let Musharna go, you don't know the harm you're causing!" Fennel pleaded.

Ghetsis laughed at her plead, "Professor, you know we can't let go of Musharna, not until we get the energy we need. You yourself used its dream energy to accomplish great things, this room is where you studied Musharna and learned knowledge that wasn't suited for mankind, not at the time. We are only continuing what you yourself began, but we are doing it right," the green-haired sage defended his actions; making Fennel doubt the research she dedicated herself to during her time as a scientist in the Dreamyard.

"You're not working alone Ghetsis, you teamed up with Team Rocket to gain something more. You've even gathered your own gang of crooks and stole the name of another organization led by a guy named N, like a copycat, and there's something you're not telling us," Ash read through Ghetsis's gaze, the dream energy from Musharna was for something else beyond energy conversion.

Ghetsis raised an eyebrow, "Copycat? Sounds like I should clear up some details about where I stand. A year ago, I was a sage that belonged to the original Team Plasma, the one N leads, but disagreement led to civil unrest among the organization and we split. Members that sided with me became known as Team Neo Plasma, the ones with military uniform and are led by a new leader named Colress. The ones dressed in knight armor work for N and since the separation of Team Plasma, it's been an endless set of confrontations regarding truth and ideals. N believed that Pokémon were to be separated from humanity and left in peace, but the fool does not realize that Pokémon are made for the progress of humanity, for advancement and domination in all fields. All Pokémon are tools. That is the conclusion Team Neo Plasma has set because it is the truth." Ghetsis's words disgusted the entire group as he kept speaking.

"Eventually, I met the leader of Team Rocket and saw that he shared Team Neo Plasma's belief, but he also convinced me that Pokémon are to be used for conquest. It was the blinding truth, but even I came into terms with it and believed that Pokémon are marvelous creatures, they're role could be used from science to war. The ultimate alliance between our organizations will lead to the domination of the Unova Region and then the world, under our reign, the world will no longer be run by primitive clowns like N or yourselves. None of you will be able to," Ghetsis was suddenly cut, by Ash and May.

"Shut up!" Ash and May stated simultaneously as their friends watched at their fearsome tempers.

"Pokémon aren't meant to be treated like hammers or nails, they're meant to be treated like our friends or even family. N and you disagreed on ideas, but both of them are wrong, but yours is the most horrific and I won't let someone like you get away with it, I'll bring down both Team Plasmas, Team Rocket, and anyone else who has the wrong idea about life and Pokémon!" Ash roared in anger, there were only few men Ash had met in his life with Ghetsis's mentality and like them; he was going to bring Ghetsis down.

"How dare you believe, that after a Pokémon's use has ended, it's tossed aside while you seek to gain power. Ash and I, and all our friends will stop you at one point if you continue this. If you ask me, it's people like you that lead a world like ours into inevitable pain, that's why we won't allow you to get away with it!" May cried out with anger.

Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Fennel became stunned by how easily Ghetsis sparked Ash and May's fuses. Even the Team Rocket Trio was a little intimidated by a furious Ash and May. The green-haired man gave them a blank look, but then began smiling, "Everything about you two has proven to be true, they weren't lying when they said you stubborn brats would come along and try to foil our plans. The couple who likes to play, Superhero."

Suddenly, Ash and May became confused. "Who told you about us?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"A personal source," Ghetsis answered plainly.

The Team Rocket Trio was also puzzled. "Someone twold tis guy bout ta twerps?" Meowth was a little suspicious.

"Who cares Meowth, we got the job done," Jessie shrugged offer the comment.

"Ghetsis, we're all set," James informed the Team Neo Plasma Sage.

Ghetsis smiled, "Good, then let's get going." At that sudden moment, a dark portal like the one Archer used appeared. James handed Ghetsis the container with dream energy and the four began walking to the portal and Ash began running. "No you don't!"

May saw a Focus Blast shoot out from the shadows, aiming for Ash. "Ash, watch out!" The brunette ran and they jumped out of harm's way, her actions mirrored the time Ash saved her from a Donphan. "Are you okay?" May smiled at her boyfriend with a caring look.

Ash smiled at her, "Yeah, thanks May." The two helped each other get up and saw the black stain left on the ground from the Focus Blast. "They got away," Ash looked down with a sad expression.

"We haven't seen the last of them, we'll stop at some point," May assured him about stopping their new enemy and pecked his cheek. Ash grinned at her, May was right, after years of traveling, he was always encountered a bad guy at least twice in his journey.

They returned to the group where Pikachu, Iris, Cilan, and Fennel stood by a panting Musharna. "Ghetsis managed to suck away a great amount of energy from Musharna and we were unable to stop it," Cilan sighed, feeling powerless.

"We couldn't do anything Cilan, they clearly had help hiding in the shadows," Iris mentioned, stating what almost happened to Ash.

Fennel gave the Musharna a tender look, "Don't worry Musharna, everything will be ok."

"Let's start by getting out of here," Ash recommended and they all nodded.

Pikachu got on Ash's shoulder while staring at Musharna, the mouse felt an unspeakable anger growing inside him. He hadn't seen this kind of cruelty in years. Fennel carried Musharna as they ran through the basement, but Plasma members assaulted them.

"You punks are not getting out of here alive," a female operative stated. There were about a dozen members in front of the gang, they were clearly outnumbered.

"We'll just have to battle our way through again," Ash grinded his teeth and prepared to battle again.

"Wait, Ash, look at Musharna," May told the boy and they saw Musharna breaking from Fennel's grasp and glaring at Team Neo Plasma.

Musharna stood in front of the grunts and began creating light blue, blue, and purple energy balls. "Musharna is going to use Psyshock," Cilan pointed out.

"No, you don't," a male operative prepared to release his Pokeball, but Munna used Confusion to push him against a wall to stop him.

"Plasma operatives attack!" the female operative ordered and they all threw their Pokeballs.

"Musharna!" the Psychic-type yelled and blasted the entire squad. All of the members were suddenly blasted by the attack, leaving them unconscious. They were all terrified by Musharna's fearsome power, she singlehandedly defeated 12 members of Team Neo Plasma in seconds.

"Let's get out of here quick, before they get up," Professor Fennel ordered and they all escaped the Dreamyard. As they escaped though, they saw a large pirate ship traveling in the air, unsure what it was, but it flew towards the horizon, eventually disappearing.

* * *

**Striaton City...**

When they returned to Striaton City, they found the city free from the pink mist. Professor Fennel smiled and turned to the teenagers, "You really got to thank you for your help, without you, who knows what would've happened. I realized that this pink mist was Musharna's way of asking for help and even though, those guys got away, we did save Musharna and stop the pink mist." Fennel petted Musharna and Munna, whom hovered beside her.

"It was no problem, professor," Ash smiled, always happy that he could help.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Fennel grinned at them and waved goodbye to the youths that helped save the day. The teens, Pikachu, and Axew waved goodbye with joyful smiles as well.

When she finally disappeared, Cilan spoke, "Well, now that that's settled, there's one more thing to do."

"What's that?" the other three teens asked.

By the Striaton Gym, Cilan spoke to Cress and Chili while May, Ash, and Iris watched.  
"So, you're leaving the gym to travel?" Cress asked his brother.

"That's right, after seeing what Ash and May can do, I realized that there is more to the bonds between trainer and Pokémon. They showed me things I never knew about until now and I want to travel to learn more about these things, so I can become a better connoisseur," Cilan explained the reason for his departure.

"Well, if that's what you want Cilan. Then we'll watch the gym over. You go learn about the world and become the greatest Pokémon Connoisseur!" Chili encouraged his brother to go and travel.

"Yeah, we will take care of the gym, so go enjoy the trip, we hope to hear from you soon, Cilan," Cress smiled at his younger brother.

"I will do all those things, thank you, you're the best brothers anyone can have," Cilan hugged Chili and Cress; the three shared some brotherly love as Cilan's friends watched.

"Looks like we have one more member to the traveling party," Iris smiled happily.

"Like they say, the more the merrier," May grinned as well, happy to have Cilan on board.

"Yeah, even after such a crazy day, everything worked out pretty fine, with Cilan traveling with us, I'm sure we can expect a great journey," Ash also had a grin on his face, despite all the bad guys they ran into today, they gained a new traveling friend.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered, he was also glad to have Cilan onboard.

From a distance, a man in a black coat watched them, he had turquoise hair. It was Archer, but he wasn't alone. Another figure, whose face was hidden under a black hood, came from behind, "The Focus Blast nearly killed him. You have to control your Pokémon's power."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much; he's got that girl to look after him. Besides, we should be worrying about the other boy," Archer stated like a wise guy.

"You mean, Roxas?" the figure asked.

"That's right, now let's hop to it, he must be on his way to Nacrene City too," Archer replied and began running at the speed of an Arcanine on top of roofs while the other figure followed behind him.

**That was Chapter 7, hope you enjoyed it even though it was a fast paced. Were any of you expecting Ghetsis or even Team Plasma, the B2W2 Version? By the way, what is the Majestic 12 up to, what is Team Rocket and Ghetsis planning exactly, are they alone or is they really something more going? Who's Roxas? Feel free to leave your opinions in your reviews; Ch 8 should be up soon. **


	8. Snivy's Deception

Chapter 8: Get Back

"Pansage, use Bite!" Cilan commanded.

Pansage ran towards a Dwebble with full speed. The Rock Inn Pokémon used Slash to counter Pansage, but Cilan merely chuckled. The green monkey leaped forward and bit the Bug-type Pokémon's pincer, but Dwebble had a backup plan.

As Pansage gnawed on Dwebble's pincer, the crab-like Pokémon swung Pansage off his pincer and launched him towards a rock. Cilan's Pokémon cracked the rock after its back hit against it, but the monkey managed to get up, even though it was clearly struggling.

Cilan gasped after seeing Dwebble counter his move and smirked, "This Dwebble is on some other level, this certainly is a bittersweet battle, but once I catch it, it'll be nothing, but sweet!" The green-haired gym leader yelled.

"Just get it over with Cilan, I didn't lose Rock, Paper, Scissors for nothing," Iris stated as she watched his battle with Ash, May, Pikachu, and Axew. The purple-haired girl recalled the moment when they first encountered the Dwebble, the four of them wanted to catch it, but to make things fair, they had to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, to decide who would catch the hermit crab. Everyone had chosen rock, except for Cilan, who chose paper and thanks that move, Cilan was chosen as the one who'd catch Dwebble.

"That Dwebble is pretty good; you think Cilan can catch it?" May said while watching the battle.

Ash placed his hands behind his head and smiled, "After nearly losing to Cilan in Striaton City, I'm sure he's still got a few cards up his sleeve."

Dwebble unleashed an X-Scissor, aiming straight for Pansage, but Cilan smiled cunningly. "Pansage, use Dig!" Cilan ordered and Pansage went underground while X-Scissor missed. The Rock-type Pokémon became anxious the moment Pansage went underground, making it to spot Cilan's Pokémon.

"This spells a sour end for you Dwebble, now taste the flavor of defeat, Pansage rise up!" Cilan spread his arms out with excitement.

Pansage burst out of the ground and sent Dwebble flying from underneath. Before Dwebble could hit the ground though, Pansage released a barrage of Bullet Seed that shot the crab as it dropped toward the ground.

When the dust cleared, Dwebble was clearly dazed and Cilan saw this as his chance. "Perfect Pansage, now go Pokeball!" Cilan complimented his Pokémon and threw his Pokeball at Dwebble. The Pokeball trapped Dwebble inside and after a few shakes, the Pokeball sealed Dwebble inside.

Cilan walked over to the Pokeball and picked it up. The gym leader grinned happily and spoke, "That's how it's done."

"Way to go Cilan," Ash praised his friend.

"You really took that Dwebble by surprise when you used Dig," May mentioned the technique that wrapped up Cilan's battle.

"That Dwebble was down for the count the moment it flew in the air," Iris pointed out, but also congratulated Cilan on his catch.

Pikachu and Axew also showed happiness for their new friend as he thanked them all. "Now, why don't I cook something up for you guys," Cilan grinned at them and placed his hands on his hips.

Suddenly, Ash and May's stomachs began grumbling quite loud they laughed nervously. "Yes please," the couple stated simultaneously. The six shared a good laugh as Cilan prepared a delicious meal for the group.

* * *

**About 30 minutes later…**

Cilan was just wrapping up the meal he had prepared for his friends while Iris stood next him, admiring his cooking abilities. "That looks good Cilan, I usually eat fresh fruits from a tree, but whatever you've got prepared looks like it's even more delicious," Iris complimented Cilan as she continued to gaze at the food.

"Axew Axew Ax," Axew followed her trainer's actions and complimented Cilan.

"Thank you both, but Iris, I think you're responsible for how exquisite this food looks. You certainly picked the best fruits available around here, that's a useful talent for anyone who's out traveling and especially, if they wish to eat well," Cilan stated, believing that the fruits Iris picked were for the most part, the reason for the wonderful scent the food gave off.

Iris slightly blushed and laughed shyly, "Gee, thanks Cilan, I hadn't thought about it that way."

From the table the gang set up, Ash, Pikachu, and May sat, watching the other two as they waited for their meals. "I wish those two could stop flirting and finish already," May sighed, the brunette was obviously getting more impatient by the minute.

Ash raised an eyebrow and looked at Iris and Cilan, then back at May, "Iris and Cilan are flirting?"

May rolled her eyes while Pikachu shook his head sideways. _Even after getting a girlfriend, he still can't figure out when two people are flirting. Oh well, at least Ash isn't too dense when it comes to our relationship_, May thought and then smiled at her boyfriend, she proceeded to grabbing Ash's hand from across the table and began rubbing it with her thumb.

"Oh sweetie, you'll understand the flirting part of a relationship some day," May giggled as Ash tilted his head a bit, still confused.

An idea sparked in his head, "I may not know when other people are flirting May, but I do have a better sense of how a relationship works," Ash informed her.

May let go of his hand and raised an eyebrow, "Really, how does a relationship work Ash? Let me know what's going on inside your head," the brunette teased him a little.

"I know we have to do some alone things from time to time, which gave me an idea," Ash showed some understanding of a relationship.

May became more interested when Ash said he had an idea, she began fluttering her eyelashes in a flirtatious way, "I didn't know you were already at that point Ash, the alone and together stuff." The brunette winked at him and giggled.

Ash became startled and knew what May was referring to. He frowned as his face began to turn red from the embarrassment, "I wasn't thinking about that, May." Pikachu and May laughed in amusement as Ash hid his embarrassment with his hat.

When May stopped giggling, she spoke again, "Alright Ash, I had my fun for today. Tell me what you really had in mind."

The raven-haired boy placed his hat back on his head and let out a deep breath, "I was thinking that we should go off somewhere by ourselves and have our food alone. We haven't had personal time for each other since we got to Unova."

May smiled after Ash finished speaking, "That's a great idea Ash! It would be great for us to have lunch alone, so I'm in." The brunette became pleased with Ash's idea, Ash made a point when he said that they hadn't paid much attention to the romantic side of their relationship since they got to Unova, so she was all for it.

Ash grinned and grabbed her hand, "Good, I'm looking forward to it."

"Pikapi?" Pikachu caught the couple's attention when he spoke.

The auburn-eyed teen looked at his friend and gave him a sympathetic look, "Yeah pal, I wish you could come too, but I think May and I should be alone for this one. You stay here with Iris and Cilan, okay?"

Pikachu felt a little sadness inside him; the mouse realized that he was now second place for Ash's attention ever since May became his girlfriend. After a little more thinking though, he was happy that his trainer and friend was able to come up with something to do with May, they deserved to be happy and he didn't want to stand in the way.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu leaped from the table and into Ash's arms.

"Thanks buddy, I knew you'd understand," Ash smiled and embraced his friend.

May admired the friendship between the two friends from across the table, but she use to believe that they were inseparable, but now it was clear that she had taken first place for Ash's attention and affection.

"Lunch is served," Cilan announced as he walked over to the table with Iris. They placed two plates with a dozen muffins each, another two plates with fried bananas cut into small pieces, and six bowls with fruit salad covered in yogurt.

Ash and May admired the delicious-looking food with glistening eyes while Iris and Cilan sat down to eat while Axew got on the table to eat with Pikachu. "Let's eat!" Iris declared, but before she could dig in, Ash and May got up.

"Actually, Ash and I are going to have our lunch by the woods," May informed them while she held her plate of fried bananas, muffins, and bowl of fruit salad.

Cilan and Iris became surprised with their actions and Cilan asked, "Why is that?"

"May and I haven't had a date in a while, so we figured this would be a perfect time since there's no bad guys, gyms or contests around to keep us busy," Ash told them the reason for why they were leaving.

"Awww," Iris clasped her hands together, clearly finding the idea cute.

"Well then, we wouldn't like to be standing in the way of love, so you guys go on and have fun," Cilan answered them.

"Thanks, you guys," Ash smiled at them and headed off with May into the woods where they could have some privacy.

"You think they'll be okay without us," May worried about the friends they left behind, wondering if there was a chance they could be attacked by Team Rocket, the Majestic 12 or even one of the Team Plasmas.

Ash used his free arm to pull May closer to him as a sign of affection, "They'll be fine, besides Cilan and Pikachu are there if anything goes wrong."

May felt assured when she thought about how strong Pikachu and Cilan were and let her worries go. "Here we are, this place is perfect," Ash announced when they reached an area with a stone positioned like a round table.

They were even two small stones where the couple could sit on. "That's pretty convenient," May said when she saw the stone table.

The couple sat across from each other like back at the meadow and grabbed their utensils to begin eating. "Let's dig in!" Ash and May happily declared right before eating.

They started off with the plate of bananas and thanks to their forks; they gobbled it all up in no more than a minute. If any of their friends were there with them, they would be repulsed by the lack of manners they had for eating.

Next up was the muffins made from some of the other fruit Iris found. They split the plate of muffins in half, Ash would eat 6 and so would May. As they ate the scrumptious muffins they smiled each other sweetly.

"This is nice Ash, alone without having people staring at us like we're a pair of ravenous Mightyena and what makes it the best is that I'm with you," May said as her sapphire eyes shined with joy.

Ash began to talk while biting his muffin, "I couldn't agree more with you May, and the fact that it's just us makes this feel complete." Ash tried to sound as sweet as May, despite his mouth being full.

May giggled at Ash as he spoke his mouth full, she didn't seem to mind, after knowing him for so long, she had gotten use to it. She reached for another muffin and made a munching sound, "Ya know I use to think that no traveling companion could cook better than Brock, but I guess I was wrong. Cilan is just as good and can't help, but imagine what their food would taste like if they cooked together."

"You're right, Brock is a good cook and so is Cilan, the thought of them cooking something great is making my mouth water," Ash responded and the two fantasized about all the foods Brock and Cilan could cook together.

After finishing their muffins, they moved on to the last course of their meal. It didn't take very long for the duo to finish their fruit salads and drop on the grass like logs. Ash made himself comfortable by going to lie down next to May.

The two rubbed their stomachs with satisfaction while holding hands. May rubbed Ash's hand with her thumb and spoke, "Ash, did I ever tell you that you're the best boyfriend ever."

"I am?" Ash looked at her, surprised that she would say that.

"Yeah, you may be dense sometimes and might get a little hot-headed, but the fact that you're so kind and affectionate with people and Pokémon makes you the most down to earth person I've ever met. You're even starting to get the hang of this couple thing without Pikachu or Brock helping you out like with this lunch. What makes you even more human and what makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world is that you're ready to stand up for your friends and what you believe in. You are always ready to defend your loved ones when the times comes like when you confronted Omega back in Pallet Town or when you confronted N and Ghetsis about their beliefs, I couldn't help, but picture you in some hero costume because that's what you always look like when you stand up for others, a hero. The most fortunate thing to ever happen to me was, meeting you and then falling in love with you," May let go of Ash's hand and began caressing his cheek as the boy just stared at her.

Ash grabbed her hand and kissed it, "May…you make me feel like the luckiest guy out there because you're the best thing to ever happen to me. Aside from always wanting to become a Pokémon Master, I knew deep down I was seeking out something else, something different, it was someone to love and I found you. You mean so much to me, you have since we first met and I know that if I lost you, I'd lose everything. No one's smile could make me put all my worries and anger behind me like yours, thank you for giving me the most wonderful feeling anyone could ever get." Ash leaned in to kiss May on her lips. Their tongues played with each other while May placed her hands on Ash's cheeks and Ash moved his arms down from her shoulders to her waist.

It was one of those moments you wish never ended; there were worries, no priorities, and no regrets. It was the ultimate feeling of happiness as the couple expressed their love while kissing each other tenderly.

"Pikachu!" a loud cry was heard that caught Ash and May's attention that instant.

"What's going on? Was that Pikachu?" May sat up, disappointed that her moment with Ash had to end.

Ash sat up and saw a Thunderbolt in the distance. "It looks like it, c'mon we have to find out what's going on," Ash told his girlfriend, who nodded and they mobilized. They gathered the plates and utensils and began dashing back to the meadow.

"What do you think could've happened?" May asked Ash as they ran.

"I don't know, but I hope it's just training," Ash replied, fearing the worst.

When they finally reached the area where Iris and the others were eating, they saw Pansage smiling with heart eyes; Axew tried to fight the threat, but was easily defeated. Pikachu also had heart eyes while Iris and Cilan had frustrated faces on.

"Ash, May, thank goodness, you're here," Iris became relieved when she saw the heroes.

"What's happening?" May asked the duo about the commotion going on.

"Why do Pansage and Pikachu have heart eyes?" Ash gave them a concerned look.

"They were trying to fight this Snivy, who's trying to steal our food, Pansage and Pikachu tried to fight back, but it used Attract and that's why they're like that now. Axew tried to fight back since Attract didn't have an effect on her, but the Snivy is too strong," Cilan explained the situation to them.

"Snivy?" Ash raised an eyebrow when he heard who was responsible for the commotion.

Ash and May turned to the tall grass and saw a cool-looking Snivy standing in front of the grass. May became relieved when she saw that the threat turned out to be none other than a Snivy, but any Pokémon trying to steal food should be confronted anyway.

Snivy used its vines to steal the remaining muffins on the table and began munching in front of the teens as a form of taunt. "Hey, that food doesn't belong to you, Tepig, Blaziken, come out and help!" May was ready to bring justice with her two Fire-type Pokémon.

"We'll teach you not to steal from others, Tepig, come on out!" Ash threw his Pokeball and summoned the fiery pig.

The fire trio glared at Snivy. Blaziken towered the small snake-like Pokémon, but Snivy simply smiled. "Blaziken use Blaze Kick and Tepig use Ember!"

Blaziken darted at Snivy with its fiery foot, but Snivy quickly dodged it by launching itself into the air with its vines. All of a sudden, May's Tepig used another move that wasn't Ember, instead of Ember, Tepig used Flamethrower.

"Nice, Tepig learned Flamethrower!" Ash praised May's Pokémon.

"Way to go Tepig!" Iris cheered for the pig.

"Great, Tepig! Now let Snivy have it!" May yelled excitedly and made a fist.

"With an all-out Flamethrower, Snivy should be cooked to a crisp," Cilan commented on May's move, certain that they would win.

Snivy smirked and used Leaf Storm to counter Flamethrower. The snake unleashed a storm of sharp leaves heading straight against the Flamethrower. "What is Snivy doing, those leaves will be burned to ashes," Iris pointed out Snivy's folly.

May smiled confidently, but became shocked when Leaf Storm clashed with Flamethrower. "No way," Ash gasped when he saw that Leaf Storm had canceled out Flamethrower, he was completely awestruck.

The boy quickly gained his composure and let out a command, "Tepig, your turn, use Tackle!"

As Snivy dropped to the ground, Tepig charged at Snivy, but the Grass-type quickly countered by grabbing the pig with her vines and throwing him against a tree trunk. Ash's eyes widened even more, impressed by Snivy's quick measures to counter its opponents.

"Blaziken, use Brave Bird!" May commanded and the starter charged at full power with an aura surrounding it.

"If that can't stop Snivy, then what will?" Iris hoped Blaziken's move would finish Snivy.

Snivy gave Blaziken a sly smirk, who glared at Snivy. The snake reminded Blaziken of its rival, Sceptile, their attitudes were extremely similar. It served as a good reason to drive Snivy into the ground. Just then, Snivy winked at Blaziken and pink, glowing hearts were released and engulfed Blaziken, confusing the Hoenn Pokémon. When the hearts finally tightened their grip around Blaziken, the chicken's eyes turned into hearts.

"No, Snivy used Attract!" May freaked out when she saw her most serious and powerful Pokémon turn into a love struck clown.

"Tepig, use Ember!" Ash leaped to the rescue.

"Te…pig!" the Unova starter used the attack, but was easily countered by another Leaf Storm and followed up by an Attract.

Like Blaziken, Pikachu, and Pansage, Tepig's eyes turned into hearts and became nothing, but a fool in love.

"This is not good," Cilan grinded his teeth while Axew and Iris watched with worrisome gazes.

"May, it's up to your Tepig now, watch out for Attract," Ash told the brunette, who nodded at him and then turned to Snivy.

"Tepig, charge towards Snivy and jump for a Flamethrower!" May ordered.

"Tepig!" the pig acknowledged and began running. The pig jumped when it got close to the Grass-type and used Flamethrower to set the floor beneath Snivy on fire.

Snivy smirked again and predicted the move. Without wasting a second it jumped to Tepig's height thanks to its vines and used Vine Whip to smack Tepig down against the ground. "No!" May yelled when she saw her starter crash down.

"Snivy sni!" the snake-like Pokémon winked at the fallen Tepig and turned its eyes into hearts like the others.

After that, Snivy picked up its muffin and quickly dashed into the tall grass, escaping from the sight. May and Ash looked around and saw all of their Pokémon with heart eyes, except for Axew. The couple, Iris, and Cilan returned their Pokémon into their Pokeballs, except for Pikachu.

"I can't believe Snivy managed to defeat all of us with that much ease," May was amazed by how strategic the snake was.

At that moment, Pikachu recovered from Attract and looked around with a glare. "Pikachu, glad to have you back," Ash welcomed Pikachu back from the love spell.

Pikachu gave the boy a confused look, wondering when Ash and May had gotten back and where Snivy went. "Pikapi pikachu pi pika!" the mouse flapped its arms and spoke with a very fast tone.

"Snivy is gone Pikachu, it got away," Iris informed the mouse.

"It managed to steal all our food and defeat our strongest Pokémon," Cilan hung his head low.

"Did you see how powerful it was?" Ash looked at all of them with shining eyes.

They all stared at him with puzzled expressions, pondering in their heads as to why his eyes were shining like that. Iris broke everyone's train of thoughts when she spoke, "Yes Ash, we saw, but what's your point," the girl was a bit irritated that Ash didn't seem to mind about what happened.

"I have to catch it!" Ash formed a confident smile and made a fist.

"Are you sure you can Ash? You saw what just happened," Cilan told the boy.

"Are you going after it?" May asked her boyfriend.

"Yep, right now!" Ash told his friends while Pikachu got on his shoulders and darted off after Snivy.

The three teens he left behind stood there with blank looks. "Does anything stop that kid?" Iris sighed.

"Nope, but that's Ash," May smiled and after the boy.

"Hey, wait for us!" Cilan yelled and ran with Iris.

**Some time later…**

Ash peeked through the grass with Pikachu and stopped Snivy in the middle of the field, munching on a muffin. "Okay Pikachu, here's the plan. You're going to use Quick Attack and Agility to avoid Attract, we can't afford to lose," Ash told Pikachu what to do.

"Pi!" Pikachu nodded and leaped out of the grass, catching Snivy's attention.

Ash came out of the grass as well and faced Snivy, "Snivy, I'm going to catch you no matter what, so prepare yourself." The black-haired teen made a fist and grinned confidently.

Snivy sighed and planned to get it over with quick. "Sni…vy!" Snivy winked at Pikachu and released an Attract.

"You know what to do Pikachu," Ash said and the mouse nodded.

Pikachu easily dodged the Attract with quick movements, but Snivy had a backup plan. It unleashed a Leaf Storm that was so immense that it left Pikachu with no escape and sent the mouse flying. Pikachu was still clearly weak from the last battle with Snivy and struggled to get up.

"Snivy!" the snake yelled and used one of its vines to constrict Pikachu and smack the mouse with the other. Pikachu tried to dodge, but the vines were too fast.

Snivy smacked Pikachu around as Ash's eyes widened with anxiety; "Pikachu!" was the only thing the boy could get out. Snivy smacked Pikachu a little bit more until it got tired and slammed it into the dirt with the vine that constricted it.

"Sni snivy!" the Unova starter declared and prepared to use Vine Whip once again.

"No!" Ash screamed and got between Vine Whip and Pikachu. The boy embraced the mouse as Snivy whipped the boy a few times.

"Ash!" May yelled out in horror from a distance, she could obviously see what was going on.

Snivy became shocked when he saw Ash get in the middle of her battle to protect Pikachu; "Sni?" the snake stared at the boy with curiosity and stopped whipping him. The snake spotted May and the others and quickly fled from them.

May reached Ash and embraced him in a hug while Pikachu got stuck in the middle. "Ash, are you okay, how bad did Snivy hurt you?" May gave the boy a worried look after seeing what happened.

Ash opened his eyes after enduring Snivy's attacks and smiled at her, "I'm ok May, thank you."

The boy looked down and saw Pikachu, "Are you ok pal?"

Pikachu freed itself from the embrace and despite having cuts and scratches all over its body; the mouse gave his trainer and confident smile. Ash grinned at him and said, "Good, as long as you're ok pal."

"Ash, are you going to continue going after such an aggressive Pokémon?" May asked the boy about pursuing Snivy.

Ash got up after kneeling down to protect Pikachu while May followed his lead. "Snivy is a clever Pokémon and I feel like I need to catch it May, I know it sounds crazy, but something inside me tells me that I can't give up yet, I can't let this chance slip."

May understood what Ash said and gave him a worried smile, "It's your heart that's telling you that Ash and I understand, but please be careful."

"I will May, that's a promise. Snivy's a powerful Pokémon, but I will catch it," the boy was clearly determined to catch the snake.

"Maybe a bit too powerful for a wild Pokémon," Cilan said as he stood in front of May and Ash with Iris by his side.

The couple turned to the green-haired boy with baffled faces. "What do you mean Cilan?" Ash asked the older male.

"That Snivy has some high-powered attacks that you don't find in a wild Pokémon. I'm starting to believe that this Snivy belonged to someone, but Snivy abandoned them," Cilan stated a probability.

"Belonged to someone and then abandoned them?" May was still a little puzzled.

"Are Snivy capable of doing that?" Ash questioned, still a bit confused.

"Snivy are intelligent Pokémon and there have always been rumors of Snivy's tendency to abandon a trainer who it finds as unworthy to raise it," Iris mentioned a rumor surrounding Snivy.

Ash and May absorbed all this information; they were surprised to hear that it was common for a Pokémon to do that. Despite learning the sad story though, Ash had a smile dancing across his face.

"Why are you smiling Ash?" Iris was now confused.

"After hearing what you just told me, it just makes me want to catch Snivy even more. I want to see if I am up to the test and have what it takes to raise Snivy," Ash formed a fist of determination.

They were all amazed by how determined Ash was to catch Snivy, except for May and Pikachu, who have known Ash long enough to know that it is typical of him. Ash reached for a Pokeball and yelled, "Pidove come out and help us find Snivy!"

Pidove emerged from its ball and nodded at Ash. The bird wasted no time in flying around the area in search of Snivy. "Gotta run," Ash told his friends and dashed again with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Ash is real stubborn, isn't he," Iris crossed her arms.

"It's not stubbornness, it's the determination in his heart that has brought him so far, if Ash weren't the way he is, he wouldn't have beaten Cilan, he wouldn't have come to Unova, or even get me to fall in love with him. Not even Snivy will be able to escape him with that kind of determination," May corrected Iris and placed her hand on her heart.

Iris listened to every word May said and began to believe that it might that, Ash's unstoppable determination. "I agree with May, Ash's determination is what fires him, after battling him, I've noticed that I have never met anyone like him before, he's one of a kind," Cilan further supported May's point.

"Now let's go see Ash catch Snivy," May smiled at them and ran off while her friends followed.

* * *

**Some where nearby...**

Snivy took a sip of water from the river and savored the water's sweet flavor. Suddenly, it heard the noise of a Pokémon flying over it and saw a Pidove. Snivy became alert when it heard something on the trees and turned around.

From out of the trees, Ash swung on a vine and landed just a few feet away from Snivy. "Snivy, we settle this now," Ash pointed at the Grass-type.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu also commented.

"Snivy," the snake sighed, wondering when Ash would quit.

All of a sudden, Oshawott came out of its Pokeball and stood proudly in front of Ash. "Oshawott, do you want to battle Snivy?" Ash asked the otter-like Pokémon.

"Osha oshaawott!" Oshawott nodded and gave Ash a confident smile.

Ash formed a grin and spoke, "Great, then let's finish this."

Oshawott turned to Snivy and pointed at Snivy, "Oshawott!"

Snivy simply smirked at Oshawott and prepared to battle. At that moment, May and the others arrived at the scene as well. Iris was the first to speak, "What is Ash doing, Oshawott is a Water-type, he has a disadvantage."

"I think after having faced similar situation against me, I think Ash will be able to handle this," Cilan recalled when Pansage battled Oshawott and lost to Ash, _disadvantage should be no problem for him_, Cilan thought.

"What must have really convinced Ash though, was Oshawott's enthusiasm to battle and enthusiasm is a key in Ash's victories, more than strategy, Ash might win with Oshawott this time," May pointed out a possibility.

"Oshawott, Water Gun!" Ash commanded.

"Oshawoott!" the otter-like Pokémon shot out pressurized water.

"Snivy!" Snivy countered with a Leaf Storm that broke through the Water Gun and aimed straight towards Oshawott.

"Oshawott, counter Leaf Storm with a full power Razor Shell!" Ash demanded.

Oshawott nodded and used its scalchop as a sword. It managed to slice through most of Snivy's high-powered leaves, much to the Snivy, Iris, and Cilan's surprise. Oshawott breathed heavily after exerting so much energy, but was ready to continue.

Snivy realized that with that scalchop, things would be much harder, so it had to be snatched. The snake used Vine Whip, but Oshawott quickly countered with another Razor Shell. Snivy grinded its teeth and knew that it had to come up with something. When an idea hit the grass starter, it smirked deviously.

Snivy extended its vine while Oshawott prepared to defend itself, but it turns out that Snivy was using one of the rocks that stood between them to make a 180 degree spin. Snivy ended up behind Oshawott and that's when Ash realized what was going on.

"Oshawott, watch out for Snivy, use Water Gun to protect yourself!" Ash yelled, but it was too late. Snivy sent Oshawott flying with a Vine Whip and followed up with an Attract that turned the other's eyes into hearts.

"Impossible!" Iris became shocked when she saw Snivy's maneuvers, which allowed it to get the upper hand.

"Snivy used that rock to gain leverage against Oshawott!" May exclaimed.

"Genius!" Cilan's jaw dropped.

Ash returned Oshawott to its Pokeball and grinded his teeth. "What now…" the boy murmured.

Ash suddenly heard a cooing sound and looked up at Pidove. "Pidove, you ready to battle?" the auburn-eyed teen asked his bird Pokémon.

The bird cooed and smiled at Ash. Ash grinned at his Pokémon, "Alright, this is our last shot. We can't blow it," the boy stated as he turned to face the arrogant Snivy.

"Pidove is a Flying-type so it has the advantage so it could work," Iris stated when Ash announced Pidove as his last chance.

"Advantage or disadvantage, Ash should worry more about Snivy's Attract, it's the reason why it's been so hard to catch Snivy," May pointed out and Iris agreed with her along with Cilan, this was Ash's last chance.

"Pidove, use Air Cutter!" Ash ordered and Pidove unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp spirals.

Snivy quickly dodged it and wasted no time in using Attract. "Pidove, dodge it!" Ash exclaimed, but it was too late.

Ash's friends all watched in suspense as Pidove became engulfed in hearts. "No…" was the only thing Ash could get out while Pikachu had a disappointed expression across its face.

Pidove became fully engulfed by the hearts, but for some reason it had no effect. "What's going on?" Iris asked, uncertain about why Pidove wasn't reacting.

"Pidove is a girl!" May shouted out in joy, it was like a spark of hope when she realized it.

"That's brilliant; Ash must have known this, so that's why he picked Pidove to battle Snivy!" Cilan snapped his fingers in excitement.

"That's pretty impressive," Iris smiled, seeing the technique as pretty smart.

May grinned at Pidove and then at Ash, "He still has a chance," the brunette formed a confident smile across her face.

Ash smiled sheepishly and chuckled, "Wow, who knew Pidove was girl."

The comment completely destroyed Cilan and Iris's earlier opinion about Ash, causing them to fall over in a cartoonish way. Pikachu also fell over in embarrassment while May was the only who laughed nervously.

Snivy glared at Pidove and prepared to attack, the snake used to its vines to bring the bird down, but Ash quickly countered with Air Cutter, causing the snake to retreat its vines. "Pidove, use Gust!" Ash yelled with excitement.

Snivy tried to counter with Leaf Storm, but Gust proved much more powerful and blew away all the leaves and sent Snivy flying against a rock. Ash smiled and spoke, "We can't miss our shot, Pidove use Air Cutter!" Ash commanded.

As Pidove unleashed its attack, Snivy struggled to get up and tried to counter with another Leaf Storm, which ultimately failed. Air Cutter slashed through the leaves and hit Snivy, causing massive damage.

Ash took note of Snivy's weak state and didn't hesitate to throw a Pokeball, "Pokeball, go!" the boy yelled, but Snivy was not going to give up with so easily. With the last of its strength, Snivy flipped over the Pokeball and used Leaf Storm on Pidove.

"You're finished Snivy, Pidove, finish with a Gust!" Ash pointed at Snivy as he turned his hat back backwards.

Gust easily canceled out Leaf Storm and sent Snivy flying against the dirt. "Ok, here goes!" Ash threw his Pokeball again, but this time he was able to trap Snivy inside.

The Pokeball shook violently multiple times, but after a few seconds Snivy was successfully sealed inside. Ash's face glowed as bright as the sun and ran over to Snivy's Pokeball and picked it up. "I caught Snivy!" Ash cheered happily.

The boy released Snivy, who stood in front of Ash with a blank expression. The boy then released Tepig and Oshawott as well. "Snivy, welcome to the team," Ash smiled at Snivy with the rest of his Pokémon.

At first, Snivy continued to give Ash a blank look, but then formed a smile across its face, making Ash and the rest of his team cheer in happiness.

Iris placed her hands on the back of her head, "What do you know, he caught it," the girl smiled contently.

"Axew ax," Axew also smiled, the dragon was happy that things turned out perfectly.

"It was worth all the struggling, Snivy will make a great addition to Ash's team," Cilan grinned with satisfaction.

May ran up to Ash and hugged him. "Congratulations Ashy," the girl nuzzled in his chest and giggled. The two smiled at each other and Ash kissed her forehead, "Thank you for believing in me, May," Ash said and hugged her tightly while kissing her forehead one last time, even though her bandana was in the way.

Ash turned to his team and grinned, "With all of you guys, there's no way we're going to lose the Unova League. We'll make it all the way!" Ash cheered as Pikachu and all his other Pokémon leaped in happiness, including Snivy.

After a hard day's work, the group of friends and Pokémon exchanged smiles, like always, everything worked out for the best.

**I hoped you enjoyed Chapter 8; Ch 9 will be up soon. By the way, I know some of you believed that this story had Kingdom Hearts involved. It doesn't and I'm sorry for the disappointment, but as much as I'd like to involve Kingdom Hearts at some point, this story already has too big a story to get another universe involved. The boy Roxas, who was mentioned in the last chapter is not the Roxas from KH, it's someone else who shares his name. If there ever is anything connected to Kingdom Hearts, it's just a reference to the series like the name Roxas, it's just a wink to KH, and Roxas is not involved. Some elements are also similar to KH, but there's no connection to the series, it's not a crossover, so that's it for now I guess. I'm glad I could clear that and I'm sorry for the disappointment, once again, I hope you enjoyed Ch 8, especially the Advanceshipping parts. Well, catch ya soon!**


	9. Attack of the Purrloin

Chapter 9: Don't Be Cruel

"You ready for us Iris?" Cilan asked the purple-haired girl.

"Ready when you are," Iris responded confidently.

Pansage stood in front of Cilan with eyes that thirsted for battle while Axew gave the green monkey a confident grin. Iris had requested a battle from the trainer she found most experienced out of her three friends, Cilan and hoped the gym leader could help her train Axew.

Ash, May, and Pikachu watched from the sidelines. Pikachu sat on Ash's lap while May had her head laid on Ash's shoulder and the boy stared at the two battlers with disappointment. May took notice of his attitude and lifted her head, asking, "What's wrong Ash?"

The raven-haired teen sighed and spoke, "I really wanted to battle Iris, I still don't get why Iris didn't pick me after begging so much."

Iris and Cilan heard the boy and the Dragon-type trainer turned to the boy. "Sorry Ash, but I think it's better if I trained with Cilan instead," Iris apologized, but her voice retained its confident tone.

"But you know how much I enjoy battling, I would've made a great opponent," Ash told Iris about what he believed.

Iris crossed her arms and replied, "That's the problem Ash, you'd battle to win and go too hard on Axew in the process. You would probably use a Volt Tackle the moment the battle commences and that's too much for Axew. Cilan though, is much more experienced and with his abilities, Axew will be trained a lot better."

Ash crossed his arms and frowned at her, "Aren't battles supposed to be about going all-out and aiming to win, that's what makes a battle a battle."

Iris gave Ash such an intense glare that it looked like steam would come out of her ears, "Just sit back and watch the battle!" Iris's yelling startled Ash to the point where his pupils shrunk in fear.

Iris huffed at him and turned her attention back to battle. Cilan and Pikachu laughed nervously while May giggled and ran her fingers through Ash's hair. "Don't worry Ashy, we'll have a battle of our own after this is over if that will cheer you up," May comforted her boyfriend and smiled sweetly.

Ash gave May a grin that appreciated her comfort, "Thanks May," the boy squeezed the girl's hand in affection. The lovebirds and Pikachu turned their attention to Iris and Cilan's battle, which is about to begin.

"Axew, use Scratch!' Iris commanded.

"Axew!" the dragon began running toward Pansage with glowing claws.

Cilan smiled at the innocent Dragon-type and made a command, "Pansage, dodge with Dig!"

Right before Axew could inflict some damage, Pansage went underground and the dragon missed. Axew looked around the battlefield with an anxious look, expecting Pansage to pop out at any minute.

"Axew, stay cool, just wait for Pansage to appear and then use Scratch," Iris instructed her Dragon-type Pokémon.

Pansage burst from underneath and stood a few feet away from Axew. The Tusk Pokémon wasted no time in rushing towards Cilan's Pokémon and scratching it.

"Repeat," Cilan instructed and Pansage went back down again.

"Axew!" the dragon tried to hit Pansage, but missed and fell.

Iris frowned and spoke, "Don't worry Axew, just move faster when Pansage pops back up ok?" Axew nodded and prepared itself for Pansage.

"What is Cilan trying to do, he hasn't even attacked yet," May was confused as to why Cilan did nothing.

"I'm just as confused as you are, but Cilan must be up to something," Ash was also puzzled, but with Cilan being a gym leader and all, the Grass-type trainer is bound to have some tricks.

Cilan's Pansage popped up again and Axew tried to fight back with Scratch, but Pansage was too fast and went back underground. The process was repeated multiple times until Axew became exhausted and could no longer catch up.

Iris frowned at Cilan, "Cilan, could you please stop toying with us and start taking things seriously!"

Cilan crossed his arms and smiled, "We are taking you seriously. Dodging an attack repeatedly tires out the opponent to the point where it barely has enough energy to fight. That's when you leap in an attack."

"Hey, that's a good strategy," Ash thought a tactic like that could come in handy.

Iris was surprised to see what Cilan had been doing the whole time; she had fallen into his trap. Cilan chuckled and extended his arm to the right, "Pansage, use Bullet Seed!"

Pansage came out of the ground released a slow-paced seed that hit Axew. More seeds slowly shot out from Pansage's mouth and damaged the little dragon. Axew tried to cover itself from the attack, but even the weak Bullet Seed was enough to make it cry.

"Ax Axew!" the Tusk Pokémon yelled out and began crying.

Ash, May, and Pikachu raised their eyebrows in confusion. "Is this some kind of joke? Did Cilan just win by using the weakest Bullet Seed I've never seen," Ash became shocked he had seen when he saw the Bullet Seed.

Iris ran over to Axew and picked it up, "Oh Axew, are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't see that Bullet Seed coming." The wild girl pecked its forehead and hugged it.

"You call that a battle? Where was the energy, the passion, the rush? I told you it's always better to go all-out!" Ash complained about the lack of battling there really was.

May sighed and grabbed the boy's hand, "Ash be nice, Axew and Iris don't want that kind of battle, so let them be."

Iris glared at Ash again and yelled, "Ash Ketchum, you are such a kid, have you no consideration for Axew, it's not as strong as your Pikachu or Pansage if you haven't noticed!"

Ash rubbed his ear after Iris screamed in his ear and looked at the girl with a hurtful stare, "Why did you have to yell so loud?"

"Because you don't seem to get that Iris isn't up for the kind of training you do, that's why I chose to train with Cilan. He and Pansage have been such gentlemen throughout this battle, unlike you," Iris gave the boy a dirty look.

Cilan and Pansage took a bow and grinned. "We do try, Pansage didn't use more than 20% of its full power when it used Bullet Seed, and we made it as easy for Axew as possible."

"Wow, I guess I never thought about it that way," Ash felt guilty over criticizing Iris and wish he could help, but Cilan obviously seemed more experienced.

"Iris, does Axew know any other move beside Scratch?" May politely inquired.

"Well, there's one other move Axew knows," Iris answered, but with a look of uncertainty across her face.

Ash got up and spoke to Iris, "Why don't you use that move instead, it could come in handy."

Iris sighed and looked at her friends, "I guess it won't hurt to try."

Her friends nodded at her and they walked back to their positions. Ash, May, and Pikachu sat back down while Iris and Cilan stood on opposite ends of the field. Axew jumped off Iris's arms and frowned at Pansage.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu encouraged the little dragon.

"Ax axew ew," Axew smiled confidently and prepared to battle Pansage again.

Cilan grinned again and made a command, "Pansage, use Solarbeam!"

"Axew, dodge and use Scratch!" Iris demanded.

Pansage charged up a Solarbeam and shot it at Axew. The dragon tried to dodge, but the beam shot out too quickly. The problem with the Solarbeam though, was that it was no thinner than a cable, yet it was able to send Axew rolling across the dirt.

"No, Axew!" Iris called out as the dragon rolled in the dirt.

"Not again," Ash sighed while May and Pikachu also gave disappointed looks.

Ash turned to Iris and shouted out, "Iris, Axew will never get better until it tries using different moves; it's one of the many things that makes it stronger!"

Iris frowned at Ash and shouted, "You want to see strong, I'll show you strong!" The purple-haired girl was ready to show Ash what she was made of and ordered a different command, "Axew, use Dragon Rage!"

"Dragon Rage!" The other three teens screamed in shock as well as Pikachu and Pansage.

Axew pulled its head back and a light blue orb of energy formed inside the middle of its stomach. "Axeeeew!" the dragon exclaimed and released the attack, but before it could be released as a ray of energy, the attack exploded.

A large cloud of dust covered the entire field, but once it cleared, a large crater surrounding Axew appeared. The entire group was covered in smoke from the attack and was left awestruck.

"That really was a Dragon Rage…" Ash smiled weakly and fell over along with May, Pikachu, Pansage, and Cilan.

Iris laughed nervously when she saw her friends, "Sorry about that, we didn't mean to let it go so out of hand."

Axew stood in the middle of the field and smiled nervously, "Ax axew…" the Dragon-type apologized as well.

After the teenagers and Pokémon got themselves clean, they all sat on a stump, talking about Axew's Dragon Rage. "Iris, what happened to Dragon Rage when Axew tried to release it?" May asked about the accident that occurred earlier.

"Axew and I have never been able to perfect Dragon Rage and we've been trying to get it right for months now, but it all ends failure," Iris lamented her failure and sighed.

"Yeah, that wasn't exactly a Dragon Rage, it looked like something else," Ash told the girl about the Dragon Rage.

"Would Dragon Sneeze be a better term for the move Axew tried to use?" Cilan stepped in and played with Ash.

"Yeah, that's it; you should call it Dragon Sneeze, instead of Dragon Rage!" Ash chuckled with Cilan.

May spat at her boyfriend and friend for their fooling around, "Stop that both of you, don't forget that you two were probably the same at some point in your lives!" The brunette knew it was a joke, but now wasn't the time or place.

The brunette turned to Iris and held her shoulder, "Don't worry Iris, these things take time. Tepig had a hard time learning Flamethrower, but he eventually got it down, many of my other Pokémon from when I first started my journey also had a hard time learning new moves like a Wartortle I have back home that couldn't learn how to use Ice Beam until he got it right months later, which means that you shouldn't give up." May recalled the first time she traveled with Ash and remembered how hard she tried to get Squirtle to learn Ice Beam.

Iris turned to May with innocent eyes and thanked her. "But how much longer will it take, Dragon Rage is supposed to be a blue stream of energy that shoots out like a lightning bolt, not a sneeze," Iris looked sad again, trying to imagine Axew using Dragon Rage correctly.

"Axew ax," Axew came up to Iris with one apple on each tusk.

"Thanks Axew," Iris smiled at her adorable dragon and took a bite of the fresh, red apple. The purple-haired girl munched on it and then grinned at her friend, "Axew, this apple is delicious. You sure know how to pick them."

Axew took munched its apple and smiled, "Ax ax axew!"

Pikachu and the other teens smiled at the affection shown between Iris and Axew. It was always wonderful to see a loving relationship between trainer and Pokémon because it proved that both species were meant to be together.

"You know Iris, Axew seems to love it when you praise it. With the kind of praise you just gave it, Axew will get motivated to strive harder in learning Dragon Rage, motivation is a key to success," Cilan commented, hoping to encourage the girl.

Iris stood on the stump and looked at him, "You really believe that?" the brown-eyed girl looked at Cilan.

Ash and May stood up as well. "Axew has a lot of potential Iris, you're only a step away from getting it right," May encouraged her further.

"That's right Iris, Axew already has enough power to use the move, all it needs to do now is learn how to unleash it and that's only one step, we know you can do it," the raven-haired boy made an encouraging smile after he spoke.

Iris smiled sheepishly and looked at her friends, "Thank you all so much, I honestly don't know what'd do if you weren't here and your right, I can't give up because I even made a promise that wouldn't give up until I raised Axew to become the most powerful dragon it can be."

The teens titled their heads a little, wondering where she was going with this. Iris grinned and looked up at the sky, "You see, about half a year ago, right before I left the Village of the Dragons, I spoke to the elder of the town. She presented me with a baby Axew and she told me it was time to set out on my journey, to train Axew and make it evolve into a Haxorus. I told the elder that I wouldn't disappoint her or the village; I would follow in my predecessors' footsteps and train Axew. This is my ultimate test. So you see, I can't let anyone down, I have to improve and with the encouragement you give me, I know I can make it all the way." Iris's gaze turned from the sky to the teens and a tear slid down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away and smiled at her friends.

May, Ash, Cilan, and Iris got in a group as a form of affection towards Iris. They all smiled as they showed how much they cared for their friend, making the purple-haired girl feel warm and calm inside.

When they backed off, they suddenly realized that Pikachu and Axew were gone for quite some time now. "Pikachu and Axew haven't come back yet, do you think something happened to them," Cilan gave his friends a worried look.

"They couldn't have gone far, don't worry, I'll go look for them," May volunteered to go search for the duo.

Ash suddenly spoke, "May, do you want me to go with you?" the auburn-eyed teen asked, he wasn't being a worry wart, but he felt like he should look after his girlfriend.

May giggled at Ash's worrisome look and winked at him, "Don't worry Ash, it won't take long, I'll be back soon!"

Ash nodded at her and the brunette went off. "Guess we'll have to wait now," Iris placed her hands behind her head and the trio began to wait for May's return with their Pokémon.

* * *

**Different Area of the Woods…**

Axew tried to reach for some fresh-looking apples hanging from a thin and weak-looking branch. The dragon was determined to get some for her friends and her trainer, but it was too far from her.

"Pika pika pi," Pikachu told Axew that the branch would not support her weight.

Axew placed its hands on its hips and stood proudly, "Ax axew ax!" The dragon told the mouse that she'd be fine and there was nothing to worry about. Axew jumped on the branch and made it wobble while trying to reach for the apples.

"Pika…" Pikachu sighed and watched as Axew clung onto the branch while moving forward so she could reach the apples.

"There you are!" a voice shouted out, which almost made Axew lose her grip on the branch as it wobbled.

Pikachu and Axew turned to see May, who was giggling at their antics. "Come on you two, we have to get going. The others are getting worried about you," May informed them while she had her hands on her hips.

"Pi!" Pikachu acknowledged and prepared to get down from the tree. The mouse turned to Axew and told it to come down, but the dragon refused.

"Axew ax axew," Axew said it was determined to getting the apples before leaving and held on to the branch. After seeing how sad her trainer was when she failed to use Dragon Rage, she wanted to cheer her up with some delicious apples and she was going to get them.

May sighed, she decided to let Axew get the apples since there was nothing to lose, besides, they looked delicious. The sapphire-eyed girl suddenly became alert when she saw a shadow leap for the branch Axew was on and used Night Slash to split it in half.

"Aaaaxeew!" the Tusk Pokémon cried out as it fell down. The dragon landed on some bushes and tried to see what was going on.

Pikachu also tried to identify the attacker, but moved to fast. "This doesn't look good," May frowned and knew that they would need help. The brunette reached for a Pokeball and yelled, "Deerling, come and help us out!"

"Deer," the Season Pokémon came out and smiled happily.

"Pikachu we're going to need your help, try to use Thunderbolt to stop whatever is attacking," May told the mouse.

"Pi!" the yellow Pokémon nodded and jumped down from the tree. The mouse wasted no time in using Thunderbolt, which almost hit the figure, but narrowly dodged it.

May grinded her teeth, "That won't work…Deerling use Camouflage and take that thing by surprise." Deerling nodded and blended in with the environment. "Pikachu, keep using Thunderbolt on it," May instructed and the mouse kept trying to hit the thing, but kept missing.

The brunette then nodded to Deerling when she saw the moment to strike and the unsuspecting figure flew against a tree by the camouflaged Deerling. The figure turned out to be no more than a Purrloin.

"What's that Pokémon," May became surprised when she saw the cat-like Pokémon.

She took out her Pokédex and listened to the automated voice, "Purrloin, the Devious Pokémon. Purrloin fools people into letting their guard down so it can steal their possessions. When angered it uses its claws to fight back."

May put away her Pokédex and looked at the unconscious cat, "Guess I should be careful with this one." The girl approached the cat to see if it was alright, Deerling's Double Kick looked like it did some critical damage since the Pokédex stated it was a Dark-type.

The brunette got closer and when she held out to touch the cat, the feline opened its eyes and leaped towards May. It bit May's fanny pack and pulled it from her waste, breaking the strap in the process.

"My fanny pack!" May became shocked when she saw how quickly Purrloin had snatched it and broken it in the process. Purrloin chuckled when she saw the girl's expression, not caring what it had done.

Purrloin saw Deerling and Pikachu ready to strike it from both sides and prepared to battle. Pikachu jumped and used Iron Tail, its tail turning into iron and aiming at Purrloin. The cat wasted no time in jumping up and countering with Iron Tail as well while still biting on the fanny pack.

"Deerling, help me get back my fanny pack with Energy Ball!" May commanded. Deerling unleashed the attack, but Purrloin flipped to dodge it and it hit Pikachu instead. The cat then followed up with a Shadow Ball that sent Deerling flying.

"It's tough, but I can't lose," May made it clear that she wasn't going to give up.

Pikachu got up after being hit by the Energy Ball and used Thunderbolt, but Purrloin's quick speed allowed it to dodge. "Puuuurrr," the cat smirked and stomped on the ground. Pikachu suddenly found itself enveloped in dark energy and when it tried to use Thunderbolt, nothing came out.

May frowned, "It used Torment, now Pikachu can't use Thunderbolt. This isn't good…" the brunette saw how serious the situation was getting.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu glared at Purrloin and used Quick Attack, but the cat countered with a simple Sand-Attack, blinding the mouse. Purrloin followed it up with a Night Slash that sent the Electric-type crashing against a trunk.

"Deerling, it's your turn!" May ordered and the cat turned around, but it was too late. Deerling sent the cat flying against some bushes after using Take Down.

While still holding onto May's fanny pack with her teeth, she smirked at Deerling as if it were saying, _not bad_.

"Now use Nature Power!" May extended her arm forward.

"Deerling!" the faun released a barrage of sharp leaves that forced Purrloin to dodge. The cat dodged most of them until it got caught by the remaining razor leaves and got slashed by its sharp edges. Purrloin showed signs of struggle at this point, but then began charging at Deerling.

May made a fist and yelled, "Stop Purrloin with Energy Ball!" Deerling used the attack, but Purrloin dodged it by jumping over it. May gasped as Purrloin now dropped from midair with a purple glowing foot, it was going to use Sucker Punch.

Before Deerling could react though, Pikachu came from nowhere and sent it flying with Volt Tackle. Purrloin bit on the fanny pack harder so it wouldn't lose grip and rolled on the dirt. The cat glared at her opponents who had the upper hand as it struggled to get up.

The cat looked into May's glaring eyes and smirked, fascinated by the brunette's battling ability and use of combinations like Camouflage and Double Kick to outwit an opponent.

"Piiiiii," Pikachu frowned at Purrloin with Deerling as its cheeks sparked.

All of a sudden, Axew jumped from out of the bushes and attempted to use Dragon Rage. "Axeeeew!" the Tusk Pokémon played hero and unleashed the attack.

Pikachu, Deerling, Purrloin, and May were all caught off guard by Axew's attack and the whole area blew up. Unfortunately, Dragon Rage failed once again, but this time it knocked out Pikachu and Deerling while May was struggling to get up after being knocked down from the blast.

Axew's eyes widened when it saw Purrloin still standing, but struggling to walk. The dragon tried to use Scratch, but the cat slammed it against the dirt with Slash. Purrloin then proceeded to getting Pikachu on its back and began carrying with a bit of struggle. It took one last look at May, who was still trying to get up and ran away.

"No…" May grinded her teeth and saw that Purrloin had escaped with Pikachu and her fanny pack and also saw the Deerling knocked out while Axew also had a hard time getting up after being pounded.

"May!" a voice called out to her and the brunette saw Ash and the others running towards her.

The boy's eyes widened when she saw her covered in dirt and with a few injuries. Ash ran up to her and embraced her, "What happened to you?"

"Ash, I'm sorry, it took Pikachu and my Pokémon," the girl murmured, still weak from the explosion.

"Axew!" Iris ran over to her Dragon-type and picked her up, hugging the little one in her arms with a worrisome look across her face.

Cilan saw May's Deerling lying with fainted eyes and saw the damaged trees. He turned to the brunette who was still being embraced by Ash. "May, what happened?" Cilan asked the girl with an anxious expression.

Ash stopped hugging May so she could explain, wanting to hear the story as well as Iris. May sighed, "I found Pikachu and Axew here trying to get some apples, but we got attacked by a Purrloin. It used trickery and speed to outsmart us; it stole my fanny pack with my Pokémon, except for Deerling. Axew tried to help with Dragon Rage, but the attack was so strong that it knocked out Deerling and Pikachu; even I got caught in the attack. It took Pikachu away with it once it saw that it was unconscious. I understand why it would steal my fanny pack since the Pokédex said Purrloin tend to steal, but I don't know why it took Pikachu." The brunette turned to Ash with tears in her eyes and hid her face in his chest. "I'm sorry Ash, I tried to stop Purrloin, but it was too strong and I let it get away with Pikachu, this wasn't supposed to happen."

The auburn-eyed teen could feel May crying in his chest, feeling weak for being unable to stop the assault. Iris, Cilan, and Axew all looked at the couple with sadness, it seemed like trouble followed them everywhere they went. Ash brought May's face out of his chest and made her look at him.

"May, don't cry, I know you tried your best, but you got caught off guard so there wasn't much you could do. Don't worry about Pikachu, we'll find him and we'll find your Pokémon too. Just please don't cry, this isn't your fault," Ash told the girl as he wiped away the tears and dirt from her sweet, angelic face.

The sapphire-eyed girl looked at the path Purrloin took to escape and then looked at Ash. She became surprised when she saw the calm look on Ash's face, even after hearing that Pikachu had been kidnapped, but he only smiled at her. Suddenly, he felt Ash's face get closer to hers and he kissed her lips, she was caught off guard by the move, but let the boy have his way with her.

She ran her fingers through his hair and as they kissed, the wounds of guilt were slowly healed by Ash's love as he continued to kiss her until he had to stop for some air. Ash grinned at her and asked, "Is that better?"

May smiled at him warmly, "It is," she answered.

"Don't feel guilty about what happened May, Purrloin couldn't have gone far, we'll catch up and rescue our Pokémon," Ash told the girl, who nodded at him while still smiling warmly.

Their attention then turned to a wailing Axew who escaped from Iris's arms. "Iris, what's wrong with Axew?" Ash asked with a puzzled look, but before Iris could answer, Axew ran away from the group, taking the path that Purrloin took to escape.

"Axew stop!" May cried out to the Dragon-type Pokémon, but it continued running.

They were all confused by the incident, but Iris had an answer. "If there's anyone who should feel guilty about what happened to Pikachu and you May, it's Axew and I. Axew tried to fight against Purrloin, but because it failed to use Dragon Rage, Purrloin took advantage of that and escaped with your Pokémon. Axew is going to look for Purrloin because it feels responsible for what happened and I am going to, because it's also my fault, I didn't prepare Axew hard enough for a situation like this and now Purrloin has Pikachu and your Pokémon. I have to go with Axew and get them back."

Cilan suddenly spoke, "But Iris let us help you. That Purrloin sounds incredibly tough and we'd like to help you."

Iris shook her head sideways and grinned at him, "No Cilan, this is part of my trial that the elder use to tell me about, getting those Pokémon back are part of my test, so I'm going after them, I'm sorry." Without wasting any more time, Iris ran off into the woods, taking the same path Axew had taken.

Ash, May, and Cilan gave the dashing Iris sad looks, the wild girl was holding herself responsible for what happened in an incident she hadn't been in, but she saw it as her personal mission to retrieve her friend's Pokémon now.

May wasn't going to let Iris take on Purrloin alone, there might be more trouble looming than they might think. "We have to go after Iris, I'm worried for her, she might end up losing like I did and I'm worried about her, let's go," May insisted on them going after Iris.

At first Ash and Cilan were hesitant since Iris would want to do it alone, but they also didn't want her to get into trouble. "May's right, we have no choice Cilan, we have to go," Ash made a fist and walked towards May so he could stand by her side.

Cilan smiled and nodded, "I'm with you guys, now let's go help Iris." May returned Deerling to its Pokeball and they wasted no time in going after the wild girl.

* * *

**Some where nearby…**

Iris and Axew reached a mountainous part of the woods. Axew had used its sense of smell to track down Pikachu and they reached the rocky area of the woods. "This is where Pikachu's scent led you to right, Axew?" Iris looked at her dragon.

"Ax," Axew nodded up and down.

"Then where could they be?" Iris looked around, but couldn't spot anything.

"Axew ax!" the Dragon-type called out and Iris looked to see where Axew was pointing at. Iris's eyes expanded when she saw Team Rocket and a man in black standing on a cliff above them.

She also saw Purrloin standing next to them, handing over May's fanny pack and Ash's now conscious Pikachu. The mouse tried to escape, but Team Rocket trapped it in a jar that was electric-proof.

"Not them again, Purrloin must have been working for these crooks the whole time," Iris frowned when she saw the exchange between them.

The man in black turned around and saw Iris and Axew below them. "Looks like we've got company," the man hidden under the black hood stated.

"Huh?" the rockets looked behind the man in black and saw Iris. "Hey, where are the other twerps?" James became puzzled when he saw only Iris.

"Does it matter, this is much more beneficial since you are three and she is one, you might finally perform a theft correctly," the man spoke with a serious attitude.

"Yes sir, we're sorry sir," Jessie, James, and Meowth apologized for the questioning.

The man chuckled and turned to Purrloin, "As for you, a deal is a deal." He reached for a cage hiding behind a boulder with 6 Purrloin trapped inside, "You got what these clowns wanted, so your friends are free to go."

"Huh? What's up with the cage of Purrloin and why is that figure releasing them?" Iris wondered with Axew. Suddenly, a thought struck her and she snapped her fingers, "That's it; Purrloin must have been forced to capture Pikachu and May's Pokémon in exchange for its friends. They must have been taken hostage and Purrloin had no other choice, but to assault May and Pikachu."

"Wat are ya doin', tose Pokémon were fur da boss," Meowth became alerted when he saw the man releasing the Purrloin from the cage.

The man glared at the cat and spoke, "The Majestic 12 is an organization who keeps its word, and we're much nobler than a gang composed of petty thieves like Team Rocket. I managed to steal the Pokémon you've been pursuing for years on my first try, and with the help of a wild Pokémon, not even belonging to me."

"What gives you the right to speak that way about Team Rocket, we should report that to him this instant!" Jessie yelled at the man and glared at him.

The figure opened a dark portal to leave, but before exiting he said one more thing, "Your boss is nothing, but a coward, you'd be surprised if you knew who your boss was actually working for." Without another word, the figure vanished through the portal.

"What did he mean that the boss works for someone else, does he mean like a benefactor?" James stated and wondered with Jessie, scratching his head with his finger.

"Dat's a load o' baloney, da boss is ta most fear'd guy in da criminal undaworld!" Meowth defended Giovanni.

Jessie and James nodded, wiping the idea about their boss working for someone else aside. "So where were we?" Jessie asked the cat.

"We planned on catchin' da purtty Purrloin!" Meowth laughed and pressed a button that shot out a large cage from their balloon, trapping the Purrloin.

"You should've escaped the moment the guy released you silly Purrloin, now you're official member of Team Rocket," James crossed his arms and laughed.

Meowth examined the Purrloin and smiled, "Aren't they beauties?"

All of a sudden, the Purrloin who took Pikachu scratched the iron bars in hopes of hurting Meowth, but the cat was too far. Meowth laughed evilly, "Tis one's feisty, I tink I'll make er my wife."

Purrloin's vain popped out when she heard the comment, but was powerless to do anything.

Pikachu tried to escape the jar it was contained in, but it proved no use and sighed. It looked at Purrloin with a sad look, now understanding why Purrloin had attacked them like that; she had been forced.

Team Rocket danced around May's fanny pack, Pikachu, and the cage of Purrloin joyfully until someone caught their attention.

"Hey Team Rocket, let those Purrloin go now, and give me back Pikachu and May's fanny pack!" Iris yelled at them angrily.

Jessie giggled and glared, "No can do twerp, this is the closest we've ever been to having Pikachu in ages and it came with a bonus. There's no way we're handing over anything!"

"Then you give me no choice, but to stop you!" Iris exclaimed with fury.

Jessie smirked, "Stop us? A foolish action indeed!"

"We do, what we do, when we feel the need!" James also smirked.

"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!" Jessie exclaimed violently while swooshing her arm aggressively.

"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!" James made a hammer motion with an aggressive expression across his face.

Meowth stepped in as well, "Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!"

"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!" the red-head declared.

"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!" the purple-haired man announced.

"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!" the cat dropped in front of Jessie and James.

"And now gather, under the name of Team Rocket!" the trio had their arms crossed while declaring the announcement.

"Team Rocket!" a familiar voice called out.

The trio became alert and looked down to see Ash with the other two twerps. James gave the group a cunningly look, "Look, it's the rest of twerp squad."

"Ash, May, Cilan, what are you guys doing here?" Iris became surprised when she saw them.

"We knew you'd need some backup, we should've known that Team Rocket tricked a wild Pokémon into stealing our Pokémon," Ash grinded his teeth, recalling many times in his journey when Team Rocket had tricked wild Pokémon for personal gain.

Iris smiled at her friends, she didn't admit the fact that she would've needed them through voice, but the gaze in her eyes said it all. "Thanks," Iris grinned at her friends.

"Want to fill us in a little Iris?" May asked the girl with a kind grin.

"I got here a few minutes ago and found these thugs with one of those Majestic 12 guys. I couldn't see the person's face because it was hidden under a hood, but it looked like he was responsible for Purrloin's actions, he held all of Purrloin's friends as hostages, so Purrloin would be forced to capture Pikachu and your Pokémon, May. When Purrloin presented Pikachu and the fanny pack, the figure released Purrloin's friend and I heard them say something about being nobler than Team Rocket, but when they left, Team Rocket captured them anyway," Iris explained what she had seen the whole time.

Iris's details made Ash wonder for a second, if the Majestic 12 became involved with Team Rocket in the same way as Team Neo Plasma, but that was a thought for another day.

"Well, all that matters now is freeing Pikachu, the Purrloin, and retrieving May's fanny pack," Cilan pointed out the priority.

They all nodded at Cilan and prepared to battle, except for May who was left without a Pokémon since Deerling fainted, but an idea struck her when she saw a way to climb towards the cliff the Rockets were on.

"Dwebble, get ready to fight!" Cilan summoned his Bug-type.

"Axew, you too!" Iris looked at her dragon, who nodded.

Ash got a Pokeball and yelled, "Snivy, we need you out here too!"

"You want to play like that, fine, go Woobat!" Jessie summoned her Pokémon.

"Yamask, you too!" James sent out his new Pokémon.

Woobat and a ghostly, black Pokémon hovered above the teens. They glared at their opponents with fierce eyes and prepared to battle. "Meanwhile, I'll surve az backap wit tis doohickey!" Meowth took out a contraption that resembled a bazooka and shot out a Solarbeam, Hydro Pump, and Fire Blast into the air as a warning.

"That's one deadly machine!" Cilan took note of the machine's power.

"We'll have to be careful then," Ash instructed, knowing that this would not be easy.

"Dwebble give Yamask a spicy sense with X-Scissor!" Cilan commanded.

"Back off Jamie Oliver!" Meowth yelled and shot out a Fire Blast that canceled out X-Scissor

"Yamask, now use Shadow Ball!" James instructed and Dwebble took a direct hit from the attack.

"Woobat, use Air Slash on Snivy!" Jessie ordered.

"Snivy, counter with Leaf Storm!" Ash commanded.

Leaf Storm and Air Slash canceled each other out, despite the type disadvantage. "That's the way Snivy," Ash smiled at it.

"That's impossible," Jessie's jaw dropped.

"Don't worry Jess, I got tis!" Meowth smiled deviously used Fire Blast with the bazooka-like weapon.

Ash and Snivy got caught by surprise, causing the snake Pokémon to get a direct hit. "Snivy!" Ash grinded his teeth when he saw Snivy with scorch marks, but kept getting up.

"It's no use, that machine is like a defense and offense thing," Iris saw how Meowth would use it to defend the Rockets' Pokémon and then attack.

Dwebble, Snivy, and Axew tried their hardest, but with Meowth in the way, it was impossible for them to win. The cat would shoot out a Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, or Solarbeam each time to counter, giving the trainers a massive headache.

While Woobat and Yamask were still in top shape, the teenagers' Pokémon were already exhausted. "Hit him Meowth," James smiled confidently.

"You bet, let's turn tis up wit a Hyper Beam," Meowth flicked a switch and charged a Hyper Beam.

All of a sudden, Jessie called out, "Meowth, the Hoenn twerp!"

"What about her!" Meowth turned around to see what Jessie was looking at and saw May running towards them.

"Not today Team Rocket!" May grinned at them slyly when she saw their faces.

"We'll see bout dat!" Meowth shot the Hyper Beam underneath May and the floor beneath her shattered, causing her to fall.

"May!" Ash cried out when he saw the girl falling and screaming.

Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Axew, and the other Pokémon gasped as they saw May fall. Ash ran as quick as possible to the place where she would land and made it in the nick of time, if he had taken longer, the worst could have been expected.

May fell into Ash's arms, making the boy lose his balance and fall on his behind. "May, are you alright?" the boy gave her worried look.

May didn't say anything when she found herself in Ash's arms and simply hugged him with affection. Ash let out a breath of relief and held her in his arms, glad he saved her in time.

Cilan, Iris, and Pikachu were also relieved when they saw the result and smiled at the embrace between the lovers. "Awww!" Jessie cried out and clasped her hands together.

"Save it for the fan fiction readers, hit em Meowth!" James ignored the teenage love and ordered Meowth to shoot.

"Right, tis time we blast you off, twerps!" Meowth smirked and charged up another Hyper Beam.

Axew saw how desperate the situation had gotten when he saw that Snivy and Dwebble weren't able to continue and the trainers were powerless to do anything. They couldn't afford to lose again; the dragon knew it had to do something.

Iris took notice of Axew's gaze and asked what's wrong. The dragon didn't say anything, but began charging up blue energy in its stomach. "Axew, no!" Iris cried out when she realized what the dragon was doing.

"Aaaaaxeeeeew!" Axew released a stream of blue energy that took the shape of a classic dragon and shot it at Team Rocket.

The powerful blast destroyed Meowth's weapon, the Pikachu's cage, and Purrloin's cage. Woobat and Yamask were immediately down for the count the moment Dragon Rage hit its mark. May's fanny pack also flew into the air and landed in front of the teens. Pikachu and the Purrloin wasted no time in standing beside the teens, ready to face Team Rocket.

When the smoke cleared, Team Rocket was covered in dust and smoke. "Jessie, I don't like this…" James spoke weakly.

"I don't think I'll enjoy it either," Jessie answered.

"Get ready to escape," Meowth sighed, recognizing their failure.

Pikachu got in front of Ash while the Purrloin from earlier got in front of May and prepared to attack.

"Puuuurr," the cat looked at May, confusing the girl.

"What does it want?" May raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Purrloin wanted.

"It's waiting for your instructions May, it wants you to tell it to use an attack," Ash smiled at the brunette.

May turned from Ash to Purrloin and the cat nodded. The brunette nodded at the cat and looked at Team Rocket.

"Time's up Team Rocket, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Purrloin, use Shadow Ball!" May also commanded.

"Pika…chu!" the mouse released the electric attack while Purrloin shot out its most powerful Shadow Ball.

The combo attack caused a large explosion that destroyed the Rocket's balloon and made the cliff collapse, but Team Rocket flew out of the smoke on jetpacks like the last couples of times.

"We blew it again," Meowth sighed as he flew away.

"It's not like we were assigned to do it though," James pointed out, stating that there was no penalty for their failure.

"Still, we were so close," Jessie whined as they flew off.

The trio disappeared among the clouds with Yamask and Woobat's Pokeballs in their hands. They would be back eventually.

Ash let out a sigh of relief, "We did it," the boy smiled.

"And we all owe it to Axew," May turned to the brave little Dragon-type.

"Way to go Axew!" Iris grabbed Axew and spun around in join, making the dragon smile happily.

"This certainly turned out to be a tasty victory," Cilan was glad that the storm finally cleared.

"That's right, Axew and Iris are today's heroes for what they did today," Ash crossed his arms and smiled at his friends.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu also cheered for his friends.

Iris and Axew grinned sheepishly as they became showered with praise from their friends, but Iris was still curious about something. Iris dropped Axew and spoke to the dragon, "Axew, can you try to use Dragon Rage one more time on one of the boulders?"

"Ax!" Axew nodded and everyone watched with anticipation as Axew charged the attack. Their eyes all glistened with fascination, but suddenly, when Axew opened his mouth, nothing came out.

"It looks like Axew still needs some training," Cilan smiled sheepishly.

"Don't worry Iris, you're much closer than you were before," May encouraged the girl.

"Just train at a good pace and you'll get there. At least Axew got it right just in time to save us from Team Rocket," Ash reminded them of today's success.

Iris smiled and picked up Axew again, "We're closer than ever Axew, and we'll be even closer tomorrow and we'll be much closer the day after tomorrow!" The friends grinned at Iris and Axew's excitement.

Ash then picked up May's fanny back and saw the broken strap. May looked at the fanny pack and then at Ash, "What are you thinking about Ash?"

The boy smiled and spoke, "Come over here." The brunette walked over to him and was told to turn, with her back facing Ash. The boy then tied the broken ends of the fanny pack together so it would hold on to May's waist like a belt. "It's only till we can get a new one or get this one repaired," Ash told her, still facing her back.

May turned around and gave Ash a loving gaze, "Speaking of fanny packs, heroism, and accomplishments, he's your reward for saving me, my hero!" The brunette pulled Ash in for a kiss on the lips that was quick, but incredible on so many levels for the boy.

Ash felt his legs shaking from how much energy May put into the kiss, it was one of those rare kisses they shared and it was one of his favorites. May only giggled at the boy's reaction after the kiss.

"Puuurr," a Pokémon called out that grabbed everyone's attention.

"It looks like it wants to apologize, especially to you May," Iris saw the look in the Purrloin that stood in front of them with the other Purrloin.

May kneeled down as the Purrloin began rubbing itself on the girl and apologizing to Pikachu and the others for getting them into trouble. "It's okay Purrloin, you're friends were in trouble, there wasn't anything you could do," May petted the cat.

Purrloin stopped apologizing and separated from May, but stood motionless in front of her. "Puuurrloin," the cat purred and said its name.

"It looks like Purrloin has one more request," Cilan pointed out.

"Yeah, I think it wants you to catch it May. It became impressed by your battling skills earlier and the combinations you did, so I guess it wants to tag along with you," Ash told his girlfriend.

"Really, catch it?" May turned from her friends to Purrloin.

Purrloin nodded at the girl while the other Purrloin approved the catch with several bobs. May grinned at the Purrloin, "If you want to become my partner Purrloin, then you're welcomed, we'll be a great team."

"Puuurr," the cat smiled at May as the brunette took out her Pokeball. The sapphire-eyed girl threw her Pokeball at Purrloin and the Pokeball easily trapped the cat inside, proving that Purrloin did want to travel with May. The other Purrloin who were freed smiled at the Pokeball and bid farewell to the trainers, thanking them for their help.

"It was our pleasure," Iris grinned at them and waved goodbye to the Purrloin with the rest of the gang.

"Well, today turned out to be another exhilarating day, Axew used Dragon Rage for the first time and I made a new friend," May smiled at Purrloin's Pokeball and then turned to iris, the girls were clearly happy with their achievements, but now it was time to hit the road and continue their trip to Nacrene City.

**This chapter was longer than the average, but I liked writing it. I hope you enjoyed it as well! By the way, my winter break is over and I won't be able to update as regularly so there might only be 2 chapters a week, but I'll try to post up more if I get the chance. Remember to review, leave comments and opinions, Ch 10 will be up as soon as possible, see ya soon!**


	10. The Trip is on You

Chapter 10: Dream On

A man hidden in a dark corner of a quiet town hid himself under a black coat and hood. He held an Xtransciever in his hand and spoke to the image of another man dressed like him through the device.

"You know what do, the superior needs this machine for our allies," the figure from the Xtransciever told the figure holding it.

"Since when do we take orders from petty thugs?" the man leaned against the wall while still holding the device.

The man on the screen chuckled, "It is all part of the plan, the deal was to help each other tie loose ends, take over Unova, get rid of anyone that stands in our ways, and you know the rest."

"I do," the man leaning against the concrete placed his foot against the wall and smirked evilly.

"Good, there isn't time to waste, we must keep advancing," the man on the screen ordered and then disappeared from it.

The man put away the Xtransciever, "Not even a goodbye? Disappointment," he sighed. Then he proceeded to take out a Pokeball, "Guess it's my turn to get involved in the action, humph, there's nothing 'The Scarlet Rage of the Majestic 12 can't get done'!" The strange figure jumped incredibly high and landed on a building, then began dashing through the rooftops, ready for his mission.

"You know Ash; we didn't stop by Luxuria Town just for you to skim through a computer for the last 15 minutes," Iris crossed her arms and frowned at him.

"Iris has a point Ash, I'm getting kind of bored watching you on that thing," May hung her head in boredom.

Cilan chuckled at the girls and spoke, "The Battle Club will do that to any trainer that comes by, and a place dedicated to training only makes a trainer much hungrier for battle, like pouring hot sauce on a jalapeño." The green-haired male used a simile to describe Ash.

"There's so many trainers Pikachu, I can't decide which one I would like to battle, what do you think pal?" Ash ignored the girls and focused on the screen.

"Pi pika pi," the mouse told his trainer to tap the screen again.

"Alright, maybe the next one will definitely be good," Ash tapped the smart screen and the image of a familiar face appeared. He wore an orange hoodie with khaki pants, and had dirty-blond hair. When Ash and May saw the trainer they exclaimed, "Trip!"

Iris raised an eyebrow when she saw the commotion and asked, "Who's Trip?"

"He's the first person I battled in Unova back when May and I arrived in Nuvema Town, he was pretty experienced for someone who had just started out his journey, it was incredible," Ash recalled the memory of his fight with Trip.

"He also wasn't very nice, he said Ash and I were from the boonies and called him 'weak' after beating him during their battle, which is certainly not the case," May crossed her arms and frowned while remembering Trip in a less fonder way than Ash.

"I'm also familiar with Trip, if you don't mind me stating," Cilan told the group.

Ash and May turned to Cilan with puzzled looks. "Cilan, you know Trip too?" Ash questioned his older friend.

"Of course, we stopped by the Striaton Gym and defeated Chili without almost any trouble, he proved to be an exceptional trainer," Cilan explained how he was aware of Trip.

Iris turned to Axew, "This guy sure sounds strong, doesn't he Axew?" The dragon nodded, intimidated by someone who could beat Ash and a Gym Leader with ease.

"I have to battle him and beat him this time; I'm going to prove that I'm no weakling!" Ash declared and began tapping random buttons on the screen in hopes of finding a way to battle Trip.

The other five members of the traveling party laughed at Ash's actions. "I don't think pressing random things will help you battle Trip, Ash," Cilan chuckled and grinned.

"Then what do I do?" Ash turned to his friend, confused.

"Why don't you let me help you with that?" a man called out and the group saw a very tall, thick yet muscular man with a moustache and very short hair. His uniform resembled the kind of clothing a martial artist wears and he had a blue belt wrapping around his waist.

"Who are you?" May looked up the tall man; the brunette was clearly very small in front of the stranger.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Don George and I run the Battle Club here in Luxuria Town," Don George introduced himself to the gang.

"Nice to meet you!" the four teens greeted the man simultaneously.

Ash then spoke, "So since you run this place, then you might know how to work this thing," the boy stood next to the machine with the image of Trip still on it.

"Of course, all you got do is call Trip's Xtransciever, it's the device you two kids have on your wrists," Don George told the boy and took note of the Xtranscievers on Ash and May's wrists.

"That sounds pretty cool, but how does it work?" May placed her finger on her chin as a sign of wondering.

"Just watch," Don George kept his stern look on and tapped a button on the screen. The screen then displayed the word CALLING.

After a few seconds of waiting, someone finally picked up and Trip appeared. "Hey Don George, what's up?" Trip answered with his usual serious tone.

"Trip, I have a young man here, who would like to challenge you to a battle," Don George informed the young man.

"Hey Trip, remember us?" Ash and Pikachu appeared on the screen, in front of Don George. The pair gave the Unova boy cheerful smiles while Trip just raised an eyebrow.

"Do you remember me?" May also popped up on the screen of Trip's Xtransciever with a grin on her face.

Trip chuckled when he saw the trio covering his screen, "Of course I remember, you're the couple from the boonies with the weak Pikachu," the boy said and gave the trio a smirk.

"Heeeey!" Ash and May frowned at him in protest.

"Hey Trip, do you remember me?" Cilan popped up on the screen as well.

Trip raised his eyebrow again in surprise, "Cilan, what are you doing in Luxuria Town?"

"Hey I'm Iris, Ash and May have told me all about you, especially about your battle with Ash," Iris also appeared on the screen, the teens now becoming crowded while speaking to Trip.

"Cilan and Iris decided to tag along on our adventure and it's been like that for almost a month now," Ash turned to his two Unova friends and smiled.

Trip sighed and spoke, "That's nice, but can you get to the point. Don George told me that you wanted to have a battle, is that true?"

Ash made a fist and grinned confidently, "You bet it is! I'm ready to prove that Pikachu only lost to Snivy because Zekrom had disabled its electric attacks."

"Zekrom, the Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon?" Cilan became surprised when he heard Ash mention the name of the Legendary Pokémon.

"That's right; Ash and I encountered it at the start of our journey. It was a scary, yet mystifying kind of experience," May recollected memories of Zekrom and explained it to Cilan.

"Sounds like an interesting start to a journey, it must have been a rare sight," Cilan smiled at May and pictured the dragon in his mind.

The group turned their attention back to the conversation between Ash and Trip. "Look Ash, I'm flattered that you would want to have a battle with me, but I can already see the outcome from a mile," Trip told Ash with a stern voice.

"What outcome would that be?" Ash raised his eyebrow, wondering what Trip thought would happen if they did battle.

Trip formed a cunning smile and spoke again, "Me coming out as the victor. You're just far too weak and inexperienced to have a battle with; I'll only accept a battle from you once I've seen that you've learned the basics."

"What, I'm inexperienced and weak? Then how do you explain this Trio Badge I won!" Ash smiled confidently and showed his badge to Trip.

"You only have one badge? I've already gotten two badges. That just proves you are not the opponent I'm suitable for, you're nothing, but a slacker," Trip mocked his rival aggressively.

Ash's jaw dropped when Trip called him a slacker, but quickly gained his composure and glared at Trip, "If you come over here right now, I'll show you that I'm no slacker and I can beat you!" the auburn-eyed trainer exclaimed with pride in his voice.

"Sorry Don George, but I don't want to waste my time on such a worthless opponent, I hope I get a call from a more exceptional trainer next time," Trip apologized to Don George, who stood in the background and just nodded at the boy as Ash began blabbering about winning.

Just when Trip was about to hang up, May came out of nowhere. "Hey, Trip! You know, I think you're all bark and no bite, Pikachu has gotten better since Nuvema Town and Ash has gotten many new Pokémon that are surely strong enough to beat you," the brunette defended Ash while he stared at his girlfriend affectionately, in his mind thanking her for defending him.

"Besides, anyone who just rejects a battle with an all-knowing, arrogant attitude like yours makes me think that you're just a kid who likes to talk," Iris appeared on the screen again and gave Trip sly eyes while defending Ash.

Trip felt insulted and glared at the girl, "Kid who likes to talk?" the boy spoke with an annoyed tone.

"I agree. If you battle Ash it would serve as a great chance to put your Pokémon's to the test. It could be end either sour or sweet, but it will no doubt have a tasty and spicy feeling to it," Cilan also stepped in, giving Trip a reason about why he should battle Ash.

"Pikapi pikachu!" the mouse also yelled at Trip, defending his friend and urging the Nuvema boy to battle them.

Trip looked at Ash and his friends for a few minutes, but then hung up, leaving the screen black on both sides. "He hung up," Ash felt insulted and clenched his fist.

May and the others sighed, feeling sorry for the boy. The sapphire-eyed girl grabbed his shoulder and smiled warmly, "Don't worry Ash, there's plenty of other trainers out there that are probably stronger than Trip, trainers waiting to battle someone like you," the coordinator tried to cheer her boyfriend up.

Ash turned to May and squeezed her hand in affection until they heard a voice. "You're whining could be heard across town, I figured I should settle this and show that you really are not worth my time," Trip appeared at the door of the Battle Club.

"Trip!" the gang yelled out, surprised to see the boy.

Ash let go of May's hand, but not before caressing it with his thumb and then ran up to Trip. "So I guess we should get started," Ash grinned confidently and made a fist.

Trip sighed and looked at Ash, "I guess I have no other choice, but this will be a six-on-six battle, got it?"

Ash began laughing nervously and answered, "Sorry, but I only have five Pokémon with me right now. Can we have a five-on five battle?"

Trip raised an eyebrow, "Only five Pokémon and we want to have a five-on-five battle with me?" the boy said, prepared to insult Ash again.

"Yeah, will that be a problem?" Ash also raised an eyebrow.

_I should walk out on this guy right now, but after being called "kid who likes to talk and all bark, but no bite", I have to show that is not the case_, Trip thought in his mind. "Fine, we'll have a five-on-five battle, Don George can you get us a stage?" Trip announced and turned to Don George.

May, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, and Axew, grinned when Trip finally accepted Ash's challenge, but was Ash really up to it? The group walked behind Don George and took them to a traditional battlefield where Ash and Trip would battle.

May and the others sat down on benches, preparing to watch the battle. "I'm so excited, I can't wait to see what Ash is made of when it comes to battling Trip," Iris spoke with enthusiasm.

"You said it, the best ingredients for a great battle are in our eyes, I'm ready for some excitement," Cilan was also very interested in the battle.

May just sat quietly, thinking, _Ash lost to Trip last time, but there is no way he can lose again. Pikachu wasn't feeling well and all his other Pokémon are pretty well-trained, he's going to win_! The brunette smiled and got ready to watch.

"Let the battle between Ash and Trip begin!" Don George declared after stating the rules.

"I'm going all-out, got it Trip, go Oshawott!" Ash smiled confidently and released his water Pokémon.

"Osha oshawott!" Oshawott had his arms crossed and grinned just as confident as Ash.

"Fine by me, Tranquil, it's time to battle!" Trip threw his Pokeball and released a rather large bird. The bird's feathers were gray and black while its beak and eyes carried a yellow color with a hot pink marking above its eyes.

"What's that Pokémon?" Ash took out his Pokédex to hear the automated voice.

"Tranquil, the Wild Pigeon Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pidove, it is believed that a peaceful place without conflict exists deep in the forest where Tranquil live," the machine stated with its robotic voice.

The raven-haired trainer grinned, "Even if it is an evolved Pokémon, there is no way we are going to lose, Oshawott use Water Gun!" Ash wasted no time in starting.

"Humph, use Double Team Tranquil, and then use Aerial Ace," Trip coolly commanded.

"Oshawott!" the otter cried out and shot out a stream of water, but Tranquil quickly multiplied to avoid the attack.

Oshawott panicked when it saw the multiple birds that flew over it. The Tranquil then charged at it full speed to use Aerial Ace. Ash smiled calmly and spoke, "Oshawott, use Counter Shield just like we practiced!"

"Counter Shield?" Trip raised an eyebrow.

The Water-type placed its scalchop on the ground and Oshawott placed its back on top of the shell. Without another moment's waste, it began spinning itself and started sliding on the ground thanks to the shell. When the Tranquil got near, Oshawott released a Water Gun that enveloped it like a twister.

All copies of Tranquil vanished the moment they came into contact with the water, allowing the otter to figure out which was the real Tranquil. The water Pokémon spotted the real copy of Tranquil backing away from the charging copies and once the shield decimated the imposters, Oshawott quickly stopped its defense.

Ash grinned confidently, figuring out his next step, "Now, take it out with Water Gun!"

Oshawott used Water Gun, but Trip showed no sign of worry. "It was smart of you to come up with a cheap trick like that, but it'll take more than defense to win. Tranquil use Work Up and then Aerial Ace!"

"That's not good," Cilan stated when he heard Trip's command.

"What does Work Up do?" May asked about the move, confusion in her eyes.

"Work Up, increases the Pokémon's Attack power with each turn, meaning Tranquil is going to get a power boost with every attack it uses," Iris explained the move to May.

May listened to Iris and then turned to the battle. Although the move sounded tricky, she felt that Ash would know what to do.

Tranquil easily broke through the Water Gun and flew towards Oshawott with great speed. "Oshawott, use Counter Shield again!" The otter quickly got into a defensive position and used Water Gun to shield itself.

Trip smirked at Ash's attempt to counter and surprised everyone when Tranquil broke right through Oshawott's shield and sent the otter flying. "It got through Counter Shield!" May gasped in disbelief, having just seen the best form of defense be broken by Tranquil.

"Oshaaaawott!" the otter flew into the air and then crashed onto the ground roughly.

Ash frowned at Tranquil and Trip, whom stared at him with blank looks, but then formed a smile. "That's a clever power-up Trip, I've never seen Counter Shield smashed through like that."

"Basics," Trip shrugged while smiling smugly. Oshawott grinded its teeth as it got up and glared at Tranquil. "Tranquil, use Air Cutter!" Trip ordered and the bird began cooing loudly.

Tranquil released a barrage of the attack and aimed it at Oshawott. Ash remained calm and made a command, "Fight back with Razor Shell and try to get close to Tranquil in the process!"

"Oshaaawoott!" Oshawott turned its scalchop into a blade and managed to counter Tranquil's powerful attacks even though it clearly struggled.

Trip raised an eyebrow when he saw Oshawott fighting back and frowned. "Now that we're close enough, use Water Gun!" Ash ordered.

The otter jumped and used Water Gun, but Trip ordered to dodge that very second. Tranquil surprised everyone when it managed to dodge such a close-range attack by going under Oshawott.

"That was too close for Trip!" Iris stated the obvious, amazed by the skill the boy displayed.

"Yeah, so how did Tranquil dodge it?" May was just as shocked with the result.

"Tranquil is faster than we thought, it's amazing speed and movements give it an upper hand in this battle. Ash will need to come up with something unpredictable to win this battle," Cilan clarified the situation for the girls.

Ash grinded his teeth, having hoped that this time Water Gun would have hit. Trip didn't waste another minute in making his next move, "Tranquil, use Double Team, Work Up, and Aerial Ace by that order!"

"Wha?" the auburn-eyed teen and Pikachu eyes widened when they heard Trip.

Tranquil multiplied again and powered up again. _What can I do, Counter Shield can't save us this time, _Ash thought about a way to fight back. He saw Oshawott struggling against the dashing Tranquil, hardly able to avoid Aerial Ace without the aid of its scalchop. An idea then sparked in the boy's head, "Oshawott, jump on to one of the Tranquil and begin steering it by holding on its feathers!" Ash extended his arm to the left while crying out his instructions.

"Do what?" Trip raised his eyebrow again.

Oshawott nodded and jumped on top of the next Tranquil that came by. The otter began steering it by pulling its feathers, causing it coo in annoyance as the other Tranquil chased them around the field like hawks.

"Now, use Water Gun on all of them while still steering!" Ash pumped his fist in the air.

Oshawott continued riding Tranquil like a knight riding a dragon. The otter shot out Water Gun on all the Tranquil that approached them until they were none left. "Enough games, Tranquil improvise by shaking off Oshawott while flying towards the dirt!" Trip ordered sternly.

Tranquil began diving down, accelerating as much speed as possible while attempting to shake off the persistent Oshawott. "Oshawott, let's give it a hand by letting go and using Razor Shell!" Ash smiled confidently while speaking.

"Ash sure has a bizarre way of battle, I've never seen an Oshawott ride Tranquil like that before," Iris said as she watched the two battle it out.

Cilan chuckled at her statement, "His methods are unorthodox, but they always seem to work."

"It's those same goofy, spontaneous strategies that give him the upper hand, look!" May answered and pointed at the Pokémon pair in excitement.

Oshawott let his grip on Tranquil go and caused the Wild Pigeon to plummet towards the dirt. Tranquil hit the ground violently while Oshawott dropped down on its feet, smirking arrogantly while holding out his scalchop.

Tranquil's eyes were swirl, clearly showing that it was unconscious. "Tranquil is unable to battle, the first round goes to Ash!" Don George declared as Trip returned his Pokémon.

Trip glared at Ash, _Guess there's more to him than I originally thought, but still. I'm going to win this and prove who the weakling is_. The boy reached for his next Pokémon while smirking smugly.

"Ready for Round 2?" Ash grinned arrogantly as he pressed the button on his Pokeball, enlarging it and preparing to throw it.

Trip ignored Ash's question and brought out his next Pokémon, "Go, Servine!"

"Servine?" Ash looked in question, seeing the resemblance between Snivy and Servine.

"That's right, this is the Snivy that defeated your Pikachu weeks ago. It was pretty good then, but now it is much more powerful, prepare yourself," Servine's trainer spoke highly its power.

"Yeah that's definitely it, it's even got that arrogant look in its eye," May looked Trip's Servine and pictured it as the little Snivy that took down Ash's Pikachu.

"That Servine is an exceptional battler; Trip used against Chili and came out victorious. Any of Ash's Pokémon will face a hard time battling against Servine," Cilan spoke about Servine's high abilities.

Iris crossed her arms and frowned, "Then why isn't he changing Oshawott, it will only make things much more difficult!"

_I don't know much about Servine and certainly looks strong, I'm going to stick with Oshawott for now, so I can see what kind of abilities Servine can use and then prepare my other Pokémon, _Ash spoke in his mind, immediately recognizing the challenge in front of him.

"Servine, use Leaf Tornado!" Trip ordered and the snake Pokémon began spinning to prepare the attack.

_At this point there isn't much I can do, but I still have to do something_, Ash kept thinking to himself and then made a command, "Oshawott, defend yourself the scalchop!"

Leaf Tornado rushed at Oshawott, who protected itself with the shell, but it clearly was unable to defend the otter and sent it flying. The otter wailed as it flew and then crashed down. Ash's Water-type wasted no time in getting to battle, although it had seen better days.

"Looks like Oshawott can't keep up much longer, why don't I make it easier for? Servine, use Cut!" Trip ordered loudly.

"Oshawott, you use Razor Shell!" Ash shouted out.

The two starters began charging at each other high-powered attacks. Oshawott's scalchop turned into a blade while Servine's hand began to glow a bright white. Servine and Oshawott clashed with each other in a samurai-style fashion where they both ended on different ends after the quick attack exchange. Servine grinned smugly as Oshawott dropped to the ground showed its swirled eyes.

"Oshawott is unable to battle, the victory goes to Trip," Don George declared Trip as the victor this time. Trip chuckled arrogantly as Ash returned Oshawott and thanked it for its good job.

Ash shifted his auburn eyes to Trip and grinned, "That Servine is something else, but I wonder if it's fit enough to go up against my, Snivy!" Ash quickly threw his Pokeball and summoned the pre-evolved form of Servine.

"I see, you got a Snivy, but I doubt that'll change anything. Enough chatter though, Servine use Leaf Tornado!" Trip extended his arm outward.

"Snivy…" Snivy smirked coolly with Ash as they let Servine approached them.

"Snivy and Ash aren't doing anything, is there something they're preparing for?" Iris became puzzled by the cool state the pair displayed.

"I don't know, but a battle between Snivy and Servine should contain many bitter, sour, and spicy elements that will end in a blast," Cilan spoke, using a metaphor to describe the battle.

May sat quietly and smiled, she knew that everything Ash did was part of his strategy so she had nothing to worry about.

When Leaf Tornado came close, Ash spoke, "Snivy, use your vines to push you sideways and then smack down Servine with Vine Whip!"

Snivy quickly dodged the Leaf Tornado with its vines and then extended another to smack down Servine. When its vine hit Servine, the Grass-type Pokémon lost control of the Leaf Tornado and got cancelled out.

Trip stared at the result blankly and made another command, "Servine, rush at Snivy with Cut!"

"Snivy, you counter with Leaf Blade!" Ash countered with his instructions.

Bolts formed when the pair clashed, causing the two to reach a standstill. "Snivy, grab Servine by the leg with a vine and send it flying!" Ash instructed with determination.

Snivy used a vine to grab Servine, stopping the clash in the process, and then threw Servine. "Servine, stop your crash with Leaf Tornado!" Trip instructed and the attack stopped Servine's launch, landing safely in front of Trip.

"Snivy, finish this with Leaf Storm!" Ash commanded with the intention of ending the battle now.

"Servine, counter with Leaf Tornado!" Trip ordered. The two powerful Grass-types released a barrage of leaves that created a powerful storm of leaves in the middle of the field.

Trip chuckled and spoke, "If you want to make progress then you should make that Snivy evolve once and for all, it would serve of some us. It's a basic rule in Pokémon Battles and progress."

"There's more to victories than evolution, Snivy now's your chance, try to get yourself as high as possible with your vines and use Attract while Servine is distracted!" Ash made a fist and grinned confidently.

"What?" Trip's eyes widened when he saw Snivy leap high into the air and unleash a ring of hearts.

Servine turned its attention to the hearts engulfing it until they fully enveloped him and turned his eyes into hearts. Trip frowned, but smiled coolly afterward "Snivy used Attract, not bad."

Snivy dropped on the field and smiled when it saw Servine. Ash smiled with Pikachu and made the final command, "Snivy, toss and slam Servine around with your vines to end this one."

Trip made no attempt to counter, knowing full well that it would make no difference. Snivy grabbed Servine with its vines and began slamming Servine back and forth with its vines against the ground. The Servine didn't seem to care about the pain inflicted upon it while its eyes were still shaped like hearts. When Snivy had enough fun, it finally tossed Servine against a wall and ended the battle.

"Seeerviiiine…" the Grass-type's eyes were now swirling instead of hearts.

"Servine is unable to battle, the victory goes to Ash," Don George proclaimed like he did before.

Ash and Trip returned their Pokémon, this time Ash decided to switch to mix things up a bit. "Ok Pikachu, you're up, let's win this pal," Ash turned to his friend and smiled.

"Pika!" the mouse cheered and got on the battlefield.

_Pikachu, so now I'll have to decide if I'm sticking with the plan or improvising. I don't usually enjoy doing this, but I also like things going according to plan so I'll take the risk, I will win anyway_, Trip thought to himself and grinned. "Frillish, you're next!" Trip threw his next Pokeball and a jelly-looking Pokémon similar to the one Ash and May had seen at Nuvema Port appeared, except this one was blue.

"Who's that Pokémon?" May rushed to get her Pokédex, finding Trip's Frillish incredibly charming.

The automated voice began to speak, "Frillish, the Floating Pokémon. Frillish can constrict its foes using veil-like tentacles and numb them with poison. It is said to live in dens some five miles below sea level."

"Numb them with poison? It sounds a little lethal too," May responded and then looked at Frillish.

"Hey, Trip's already lost two Pokémon while Ash has only lost one, that means he's winning," Iris smiled, happy for her friend's current victory.

Cilan looked at Frillish and Pikachu, "It is a good thing, but even though Ash has the type advantage. Frillish is known to have many abilities that can leave the opponent at the brink of defeat, even if it is an Electric-type. Ash should be careful for this one."

"Let's get started, Pikachu use Volt Tackle!" Ash ordered with a significant amount of confidence.

"Already starting with a powerful attack? How cliché, Frillish stay put," Trip crossed his arms and commanded calmly.

Ash raised an eyebrow as Pikachu kept charging. The mouse was successful in striking Frillish, but the Ghost-type seemed to be smirking rather than feeling pain. Suddenly, a dark aura covered Pikachu and the mouse stepped away from Frillish in fear.

"What's going on?" Ash and May both asked when they saw the aura and the fear in Pikachu's eyes.

"I knew it, Frillish used Cursed Body. This must be what Trip had planned since the start," Cilan mentioned.

"What's Cursed Body?" May became confused when she heard the name of the ability.

"Cursed Body is an ability that disables any attack used on Frillish, especially a physical one. Meaning, your Pikachu can't use Volt Tackle for the rest of the battle because of Cursed Body," Trip informed Ash about what happened, in the process also informing May.

Ash grinded his teeth and spoke, "Guess we'll just have to use other attacks then, Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu snapped out of its fear state and unleashed a bolt of electricity at Frillish.

Trip grinned smugly, "Protect." At that moment, Frillish formed a barrier that blocked Pikachu's Thunderbolt, cancelling it out. "You make this too easy Ash, why don't you just give up," the Unova boy kept speaking arrogantly.

"Don't count on it," Ash grinned. "Pikachu, use Double-Edge!" Ash commanded and the mouse charged at Frillish.

Iris got on her feet and yelled, "What is he doing?!" When she heard Ash's command, even Cilan and May became confused by the action.

Pikachu charged head-on, but just passed through Frillish, not even leaving a dent on the Pokémon. Ash raised an eyebrow, "What happened?"

Trip smirked and looked at Ash with pity, "Seriously, just stop it, you're degrading yourself. Frillish is part Ghost, so how can you expect a Normal-type attack to have an effect?"

"Darn, I forgot," Ash grinded his teeth when he realized his error.

"Well then, this will make you keep that in mind in the future, Frillish, use Hex on Pikachu!" Trip commanded.

Frillish gave Pikachu a frightening look as the mouse backed away. It formed an attack shaped like an eye, preparing it for Pikachu. "That's one scary-looking attack," May said as she felt chills crawl up her spine.

"Blow the mouse away!" Trip ordered fiercely.

"Pikachu, counter Hex with a Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed so that Pikachu could hear him.

Pikachu saw the attack charging at him and wasted no time in countering; the mouse released the attack and yelled "Pikaaachuuu!"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a large wall break. Pikachu opened its eyes and saw that he had countered Hex, but what was that noise. The entire group turned to a hole in the wall that was large enough for a grown man to get through.

There standing by it, was a man in a black coat, hiding his face under a hood. The entire traveling gang recognized the figure and widened their eyes. "You people again?!" Ash glared at the stranger.

"You guys are almost as bad as Team Rocket!" May yelled out the figure.

"What do you want?" Iris also shouted at the figure.

"Who's this person?" Trip and Don George turned to the friends, asking simultaneously.

"That person is a member of the Majestic 12," Ash answered them, still glaring at the figure who just stared at them.

"A nefarious organization we've run into a couple of times who work with crooks and are up to no good," Cilan informed the Don and Trip about the new guest.

Trip turned to the figure and raised an eyebrow, "Majestic 12?"

The figure began chuckling and started to walk towards them. "I'm just unhappy about this as you are. I mean, of all the towns, of all the battle clubs, of all the battlefields, you kids just had be hanging out in this one," the figure spoke with a sort of youthful voice, but with a wise guy attitude in his tone.

"You mean you're not here to attack us?" May tilted her head in confusion.

"Of course not," the figure answered and dropped his hood. It revealed a man with long red hair and a scar on his left eye. His smile spelled sinister and his gaze meant trouble. "I'm just here for this little ol' thing," the male showed them a small, metallic disc-like device with codes written on it.

"What are you doing with that? It's illegal to steal from the Battle Club!" Don George got in front of the kids, recognizing one of the facility's devices.

The man rolled his eyes, "Sorry, I guess I didn't get the memo."

"We've seen you before, in Nuvema Town, but your name is…" May tried to remember the intruder's name

The man placed his hands on his hips while still holding on to the device, ignoring Don George. "Oh nice, you can remember Archer's name, but not mine and I'm certainly the better one between us. The name's Silver, this goes for the rest of you, it's Silver, have it memorized?"

"That's right, Silver…" Ash started to remember the Majestic 12's introduction of its members along with May.

"Now, why don't you hand over that device you stole, it doesn't seem to belong to you," Trip approached Silver, showing his sense of justice.

"How on earth did you get your hands on that, these devices are locked away deep in Battle Clubs, I'm sure you don't even understand the value of the device," Don George glared at the thief.

Silver chuckled at him and smirked, "Of course I understand the value of this device and I even know the history of it, after all, I have been doing my homework. Four score and seven years ago, a couple of no life Unova scientists created this baby and intended to use it to enhance a Pokémon's abilities. Unova was supposed to be the first region to have it and was the only region to have it until Battle Club members realized that the use of this machine not only make their Pokémon stronger, but it turn them into a pack of rabid dogs who disobeyed their masters and blew everything up. The device became banned and sealed deep within Unova's battle facilities, never to be seen again. Well, guess what Don, the Majestic 12 has solved the problem to this little malfunction and intends to use it for some activity, so I'll be taking this and get one my way."

"Hey wait, if that's not yours then you have no right to take it, especially if it's a dangerous item and is in the wrong hands," Ash stepped up to play hero as all his friends got beside him.

Silver rolled his eyes, "Is that what you learned from fighting the big baddies in Sinnoh, Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto?"

Ash was taken back by Silver's comment and asked "How do you know about that?"

"Intuition, have it memorized?" Silver tapped the temple of his head.

"Well, you're still not stealing anything," Iris glared at the enemy.

Silver looked around and then checked the time on his Xtransciever. "Let's see, it's past noon and it's five against one and my ride isn't here…sure I got time," Silver placed the device in his pocket and reached for two Pokeballs.

"Come out and play kiddies!" Silver threw his Pokeballs and summoned two Pokémon.

Two bright red Pokémon appeared before the group. One of them was a Scizor and the other was a Red Gyarados. "Where did you get a Red Gyarados?" Ash glared at him, recalling that only Lance owned a red Gyarados.

"I stole it, what was your first clue?" Silver smirked at him.

Ash glared at Silver even more and spoke, "May, Iris, Cilan, Don George, evacuate the Battle Club. Tell them there's been an emergency, Trip and I will handle this."

"But Ash!" May called out, worrying for his safety according to the tone in her voice.

"No buts May," the boy answered and turned to her. Ash smiled at her and squeezed her hand, "Don't worry about me, everything will be fine, now get going."

May nodded at him and grinned warmly. May and the others exited the room while Trip and Ash stayed with Silver. Ash turned to Trip and smiled, "Ready Trip, this will make good practice."

"Whatever," Trip answered coldly without looking at Ash.

"You'll be lucky if you make out of here alive, your girlfriend wouldn't be too happy about having a dead boyfriend, would she Ash?" Silver taunted.

Ash grinded his teeth and released his other Pokémon, "Pidove, Tepig, Snivy, I need you here with Pikachu! Trip, you should also send out the rest of your Pokémon, I've battled these guys before and they're stronger than some of the Elite Four members."

Trip's eyes widened when he heard Ash say how strong they were and nodded, "Lampent, Vanillite, Timburr, I need your assistance!" Trip threw his Pokeballs and summoned the other three.

"8 against 2? Talk about unfair, but enough games. Get ready to burn!" Silver smirked savagely at them.

"I'll handle Gyarados," Ash told his rival and they prepared to battle.

"Gyarados, use Flamethrower on all of Ash's Pokémon!" Silver commanded.

_This would be easier if Oshawott were conscious, but I'll have to make do with what I have_, Ash thought as he grinded his teeth in frustration. "Pikachu block with Thunderbolt! Snivy use Attract, Tepig use Tackle and Pidove use Air Cutter!" Ash ordered.

Gyarados's Flamethrower cancelled out thanks to Thunderbolt, but Silver had other tricks. "Gyarados send Tepig flying with an Aqua Tail and use Hyper Beam to blast away Pidove!" the red-head commanded.

As Tepig charged at Gyarados, the red creature aimed its tail at the pig and released a stream of spiral water that sent it flying against a wall, knocking it out. The Atrocious Pokémon easily cancelled out Air Cutter with Hyper Beam and sent Pidove flying against a wall as well, leaving it unconscious while Snivy's Attract had no effect on it.

"Darn it," Ash glared, acknowledging that this Gyarados was a girl.

Trip focused on his battle as Silver leaned against a wall and watched, making commands from time to time. "Frillish use Water Pulse, Lampent use Flamethrower, Vanillite use Ice Beam, and Timburr use DynamicPunch!"

"Scizor use Double Team and move using Agility. Then follow up with Metal Claw on Vanillite, Night Slash on Lampent and Frillish, and Aerial Ace on Timburr," Silver calmly ordered.

Scizor multiplied into about 20 copies, causing Trip's Pokémon to miss. Agility boosted the fast movement of the Scizor and each copy made quick work of each member of Trip's Team. Frillish tried to use Water Pulse and Hex repeatedly, but the many Scizor overpowered her and sent her crashing against the ground with a powerful barrage of Night Slash. Other Scizor slammed Vanillite against the dirt with Metal Claw, knocking out the Ice-type while Timburr was also made quick work of with a fast moving set of Aerial Ace. Lampent was also sent crashing against the ground with Night Slash, but it and Frillish were the only two Pokémon Trip had that could keep going.

"Well what do you know, you two actually lasted more than a minute. I think it's time I picked things up a notch. Gyarados use Blizzard on Pikachu and Snivy, Scizor keep using Agility and use Night Slash," Silver ordered.

"Pikachu, try to fight back with Thunder and Snivy you use Leaf Storm while Pikachu is distracting Gyarados!" Ash commanded.

"Piiiiikaaaachuuuu!" Pikachu yelled and tried to hold back Gyarados's Ice-type attack.

"Sniiiiivvvvyyy!" Snivy also shouted and unleashed a barrage of leaves at Gyarados, but the Atrocious Pokémon was somehow able to still tolerate the pain and focus on Pikachu.

Ash clenched his fist and spoke, "Keep at it Snivy!"

Snivy tried to stop Gyarados, but the Leaf Storm kept getting weaker because of its effect and Gyarados still didn't pay attention while Pikachu continued struggling against Blizzard. Suddenly, a loud explosion occurred because of the power collision and a cloud of smoke covered Ash's side of the battle.

"I can't see," Ash tried to see through the smoke with Snivy and Pikachu while coughing.

All of a sudden, the large serpent emerged from the smoke and constricted Pikachu and using Flamethrower on a shocked Snivy. The Grass Snake Pokémon was burned into the ground and left unconscious as Gyarados constricted Pikachu.

Trip was still busy facing the Scizor copies and no matter how many times Frillish and Lampent defeated a copy, more would multiply thanks to Double Team. At that moment, the Scizor's pincers began to glow purple.

"They've used Sword Dance, they're power has increased even more now," Trip's eyes widened in horror.

"That's right," Silver chuckled and snapped his fingers. At that sudden moment, all the Scizor attacked Trip's Ghost Pokémon and knocked them out, sending them crashing against the ground below.

Ash saw that Trip had been defeated and now the only Pokémon conscious was Pikachu. "Pikachu use Thunder now!" the boy called out.

"I don't think so," Silver laughed at Ash and also snapped his fingers at the boy. Before Pikachu could use the attack, Gyarados swung the mouse and used Hyper Beam, sending Pikachu crashing against the wall, and leaving it in an unconscious state.

"We lost…" Trip murmured and turned to Silver, the two teens glaring at the older opponent.

Silver began clapping and laughed, "Tooo bad looks like you didn't make it to five minutes, better luck next time."

"I don't care, give us back the disc!" Ash charged up to the boy, but Silver sent him flying back with an Aura Sphere.

The attack wasn't strong enough to hurt Ash, but it did fly him back against Trip and the two fell hard on the ground. Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard and the teens saw a truck that had broken the wall.

"Oops, sorry, that's my ride. I had fun, catch ya guys later," Silver smirked at them and motioned his index finger from his forehead at them as a form of goodbye. The member opened the backdoors of a container on the truck and got in. Within seconds, the truck began to move and drove at a fast rate.

Ash and Trip grinded their teeth as they saw Silver waving bye at them as the truck drove off, the man was clearly mocking them. The two teens quietly got up and returned all their fainted Pokémon, except for Pikachu, which Ash carried in his arms.

"I'm sorry pal, no matter how hard we try, we never seem to be able to stop those guys," Ash stared at Pikachu with a sad expression.

"Pi…." Pikachu answered with a weak smile, telling Ash that they would get them some day.

"Did you say their name is the Majestic 12?" Trip called out to Ash.

The raven-haired teen turned around and responded, "Yeah, why?"

"Looks like I have a new form of training, a side-mission would be a better word. I'm going to learn more about these guys and I hope I run into them again, because they'll pay for what they did here today, besides battling and beating them will make for good practice," Trip informed the boy about his plans with a stern tone.

Ash sighed, "You're lucky if you don't, but careful Trip, you saw what they can do. Good luck with your progress," the auburn-eyed teen told his rival.

"Right," the boy replied. "And Ash, you may have won today because of interruptions and luck, but next time I'll win," Trip told Ash one last thing before he left through the broken wall, continuing his personal journey.

"I'll look forward to it!" Ash yelled while smiling, even after the disastrous result the boy could still put a grin on his face. _I didn't beat Trip the way I wanted to, but at least I had the upper hand on him most of the time and I got to see what it's like battling with him. This day didn't turn out so bad in the end_…Ash thought to himself about what happened to him during his time in Luxuria Town.

"Ash!" a voice called out and a person embraced him in a hug. "Thank goodness you're alright," the boy saw that it was May.

Iris, Cilan, and Don George also arrived with the brunette. "We evacuated all of the people from the Battle Club," Iris informed a dirt-covered Ash.

"But we heard the loud crash and knew we had to come back. Where's Silver and Trip?" Cilan questioned his friend.

"Trip just left, he said he couldn't waste time and continued on his journey. He also wanted to learn more about the Majestic 12. Silver…escaped with the disc, even the two of us were no match for him. It was like fighting a member of the Pokémon League. The loud crash you heard was a truck breaking through that huge hole you see on the wall, Silver got in and escaped. I'm sorry Don George, we tried all we could," the boy apologized and showed an exhausted Pikachu in his arms.

Don George sighed, but then smiled, "It doesn't matter Ash. You two tried your best. I can already picture it. After seeing the two of you battle, I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to defend the Battle Club in such a time of crisis and I thank you for that, please also thank Trip if you ever see him. From here, I'll notify the police about those thugs and they'll retrieve the disc."

Ash smiled and thanked Don George for everything. Then May spoke, "Look at the bright side, technically you beat Trip since you won 2 of the battles and he only won once," May comforted him and held his arm in affection.

"That's true, but next time it will be a real battle and I'll win that one too. Nothing will stop me then, but before we'll have to go after my next gym badge," Ash formed a confident smile and used his free arm to make a fist.

"Don't forget my ribbon," May grinned and giggled a little.

Ash laughed nervously and said, "Oh right, sorry I forgot."

The group laughed at Ash's forgetful mind and May pecked his cheek as a way of accepting her boyfriend's apology. After Ash getting a quick shower and having recovered his Pokémon from the Pokémon Center, the gang said goodbye to Don George continued their travel to Nacrene City.

**Hope you enjoyed it! What did you guys think of Silver? He's the first member of M12 to battle Ash or any of his friends. Feel free to leave your comments in your review and Chapter 11 should be up sometime between Sunday and Tuesday. If any of you are interested in knowing, I read on Bulbapedia that Ash only got to the Top 8 in the Unova League -.-, it certainly was a WTF moment, can't the writers just let the guy win at least one league?! Also, Generation VI has been announced and the starters and legendary Pokémon of that Gen have also been revealed, it's called Pokémon X and Y, and it seems ok, the Pokémon don't look that look, except for the legendary, the graphics are also pretty cool since now its full 3D and stuff. Generation VI could also be useful for a future story, maybe even for this one, but it's too soon to say anything, so that's it for now. See ya!**


	11. Going the Extra Mile

Chapter 11: Tension Rising

"Where's Professor Juniper's assistant? She should have been here by now," Ash said with his arms placed behind his head and an impatient look on his face.

"Yeah, we should be with our badge and ribbon cases right now," May pouted with her arms crossed, she was clearly as impatient as Ash.

The group of six, including Axew and Pikachu waited for Professor Juniper's assistant while standing on the middle of the dirt path that led to Nacrene City. It has already been 30 minutes since the professor called them to inform that her assistant was nearby to drop off the cases, but the wait has been going on longer than expected.

Even Iris was beginning to feel impatient, "After this, how long till we reach Nacrene City?"

May checked the digital map on her Xtransciever and saw that they were not very far now. "Nacrene City is past a nearby Day Care and over the mountain, it should take no more than two days to get there, the wait is almost over," Cilan informed, hoping that the news would cheer them up. The green-haired cook pointed at the remaining mountain they had to climb over to reach Nacrene City, showing that the distance was not very long.

Ash and Iris nodded at their informative companion. Suddenly, they saw a figure running incredibly fast in the distance. The figure was charging towards them and with every step it took, it left a trail of dust that could only be left behind by a stampede of Tauros.

"What's that?" Ash raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

May squinted her eyes and saw a person with a green hat, orange jacket, green shorts, orange shoes, and red glasses, "I think it's a girl," the brunette said as she tried to identify the figure.

"Hey, you people, wait, I'm Professor Juniper's assistant!" the blond-haired girl cried out.

Ash and May smiled when they heard the girl say that she was Professor Juniper's assistant. "Perfect, I was just about to give up," Ash grinned as the girl neared, the boy wouldn't have been able to wait another five minutes.

The emerald-eyed girl finally reached them and stopped to catch some air. The dust cloud behind her slowly faded as she panted, "Hi…I'm…Professor Juniper's…assistant," the girl breathed in and out with her back bent forward.

"Hi there, we heard you have something for Ash and I?" May greeted the blond-haired girl and asked about the delivery she had to make.

Professor Juniper's assistant stopped panting and smiled, "That's right, I'm sorry for being late, but I just had one more duty to finish before coming here."

"It's no problem at all," Cilan told the girl to worry about her tardiness.

_Speak for yourself_, Ash thought and glared at Cilan for a moment before turning back to the girl with red glasses.

"Well, here are your badge and ribbon case," the girl reached into a pocket in her jacket and took out a black and blue quadratic case for badges. She handed that one to Ash and gave a black and red one to May that was similar in design to Ash's, but served for ribbons. "By the way, my name is Bianca, you already know that I'm Professor Juniper's assistant and well that's it. I've heard so much about the four of you from Professor Juniper, especially about you, Ash and May," Bianca introduced herself, mentioned Professor Juniper's talk about them and giggled.

"Nice to meet you Bianca, I'm Ash and I'm hoping to get into the Unova League," Ash warmly greeted Bianca.

"I'm May, I'm hoping to get into the Unova Grand Festival," May also introduced herself with a warm tone.

"I'm Iris, nice to meet you," Iris grinned at Bianca happily.

"And I'm Cilan, pleasure to meet you," Cilan also smiled at Bianca when introducing himself.

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu also greeted Bianca with a friendly tone.

"Ax Axew!" Axew popped out of Iris's hair and greeted Bianca with the same welcoming tone.

Bianca smiled at them, "Nice to meet you all, I've never met anyone from the Village of the Dragons, a Gym Leader, or people outside of Unova!" The blond-haired girl mentioned with an energetic voice.

"Why don't you join us for lunch Bianca, we were going to have some after you got here," May invited the blond-haired to lunch.

Bianca raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden invite, "Really?"

"Yeah, you must be tired from running Professor Juniper's errands, a nice lunch should energize you," Ash happily encouraged the girl to join them for a meal.

"The more the merrier," Iris also insisted with her friends.

"I'll be happy to cook for more people," Cilan told the emerald-eyed girl.

Bianca grinned thankfully at them and spoke, "Well ok, thank you guys so much."

* * *

**After a little more than a half hour…**

Ash, the Pokémon, and his friends were all eating the delicious food Cilan had prepared on the table Iris set up. May licked the whip of her spoon and giggled, "As usual, you never disappoint Cilan!"

"Thank you May, I try my hardest," Cilan grinned and ate a strawberry.

Ash took out his shiny badge case and pressed a button that opened. Much to his surprise, he saw room for 11 badges rather than the usual 8. The boy became puzzled by this and spoke, "Bianca, do you know why the badge has space for 11 badges?"

"11 badges, I thought it was the usual 8?" May also became surprised by the revelation.

Bianca smiled at their confusion and answered, "Don't worry, you only need 8 badges to compete in the Unova League, but they placed 3 extra badges there because Unova has gotten into some trouble lately."

May tilted her head a bit, still confused as to what Bianca meant. "You see, Unova has fallen victim to mass criminal activity lately, so the police force has requested help from local gym leaders in order to arrest these outlaws and put them behind bars. The people who run the gyms and Unova League agreed to hire more gym leaders in case one of the original 8 becomes unavailable, so the trainer could just go see one of the others." Bianca finally explained in more detail as to why the badge case had room for 11 badges.

"They must be tracking down criminals like Team Rocket, both Team Plasmas and the Majestic 12 huh?" Iris asked the young assistant.

Bianca nodded, "The police are after Team Rocket and both Team Plasmas like a cat chasing a mouse, but I never heard of any Majestic 12," the emerald-eyed girl stated, clearly familiar with the three criminal organizations roaming Unova, but unaware of the fourth and most dangerous one.

"Well, with a gym leader's help, all the bad guys will be caught in no time," Cilan mentioned, certain that Unova's crime crisis would end quickly.

All of a sudden, a large explosion was heard that startled the teens. Cilan noticed the water in his cup shake and looked around, "What was that?"

"Look!" Bianca pointed to a cloud of smoke coming from somewhere nearby.

"Where's that coming from?" May became worried the moment she saw the menacing black cloud.

Cilan grinded his teeth, "It looks like it came from the nearby Day Care Center, something bad must be happening."

Ash had a concern look across his face and spoke, "If something bad is happening, then we have to go stop it, c'mon guys!"

Ash's friends nodded and they all returned their Pokémon, lunchtime was clearly over. Bianca also went off with them, feeling that after offering her lunch, she should repay them by checking and helping out with whatever is going on at the Day Care.

After Ash and the others had left, a Sandile with sunglasses burst out of the ground and the gang running towards the black cloud. The Sandile huffed and went back underground with the intention of following them.

"What do you think it's this time Ash?" May ran beside him and Pikachu, recalling that they run into too much trouble lately.

Ash grinded his teeth and looked at his girlfriend, "I don't know and I wish I didn't have to, but it looks like someone needs our help."

May shook her head in agreement and the pair began running faster, causing the other friends to run faster in order to catch up.

When they finally reached the Day Care, they hid behind the trees to see what was going on. The Day Care itself was under fire and they saw a crowd of children with a woman who didn't look more than 20, there was also another much older woman with them. They coughed violently as the smoke covered several areas of the Day Care. In front of the defenseless women and children were about a dozen Team Plasma members with devious looks on their faces.

"That's Team Plasma," May mumbled and glared at the thugs dressed like knights, remembering her last encounter with them at Accumula Town.

Ash nodded, "Yeah, this is N's Team Plasma, not the one Ghetsis led in Striaton City though."

"What are they doing here though?" Iris also glared at the shameless crooks.

"Trying to 'liberate' Pokémon, like usual, they've been at this for almost a year now, but we won't let them have their way," Bianca frowned at the criminals dressed like knights.

"Looks like they're talking and one of the kids is trying to stand up to them with a Trubbish," Cilan's observant eyes saw the motion in one of the Plasma Grunt's lips and a little kid getting in front of the crowd with a Trubbish.

The member in front of the other Plasma Grunts seemed to be in charge of the operation. He chuckled when he saw all the little kids glaring at him. "Women and children, hand over all the Pokémon eggs and Pokémon that in have stored inside your little Day Care. We're not here to play games with brats or learn to read, we're here to liberate all those eggs from their prison and set them free, into the wild," the grunt smirked evilly at the now frightened group.

The older woman approached him and frowned at him, "What gives you the right to tell to just hand over these Pokémon. Their trainers entrusted me with taking care of them and raising them properly, not to have low petty thugs burn my home down and take my granddaughter's class hostage."

"Then the trainers are just as foolish as the rest of you. These 'Day Care' centers are nothing more than juvenile prisons for Pokémon, no better than being trapped inside a Pokeball. The Pokémon raised in these centers are oppressed, unable to taste natural freedom and Team Plasma's goal is to allow that, give Pokémon their freedom. Liberate them from the oppression of ignorant humans!" the grunt shouted at the woman aggressively.

"Shut up, you're wrong about Day Cares and Pokémon!" a little boy stepped up and confronted the harsh Plasma Grunt.

"Avery, get back here!" the younger woman called him back.

Team Plasma laughed at the boy's courage to confront them. The Plasma Grunt in charge chuckled and glared at him, "You've got spunk for confronting us, kid, I'll give you that, but why don't you just accept the truth right now instead of being forced to suffer by my hand."

"Day Care centers are not prisons for Pokémon. I've seen Pokémon being born and raised here, and they have always been happy. All the Pokémon like it here and all the Pokémon eggs getting ready to hatch are also going to be happy because they're going to have fun with us, they are only going to be sad if they are taken by meanies like you!" the little brown-haired boy spat at the Plasma Grunt and then stood next to Trubbish, petting it, "Trubbish is a Pokémon we found here, it was wandering around and decided to stick around the Day Care because it liked it here, he likes playing with us and likes helping out around the place. You are wrong if you think Pokémon will be glad to be taken away from us, you'll only be taking away their happiness, a Pokémon can like being with people or living in the wild, it's their choice, but a creep like you won't decide that!"

"Trubbish!" the trash-like Pokémon snapped at the grunt.

The Plasma Grunt gave Avery a cold look and spoke, "Humph, if you really think that, then try to stop us with a battle. If you beat me, then we will go, but if you fail, then we free all the eggs and Pokémon and burn this center down."

Avery grinded his teeth, knowing the risk he was taking. The kids and his teacher pleaded for him to stop trying and let Team Plasma have their way, but the stubborn little boy was having none of it. "Fine, I'll fight with Trubbish!" Avery answered.

From a small distance, May murmured something to Ash as the group saw the whole thing progress, "Ash, we have to do something, we can't let that little boy fight someone as dangerous as that."

Ash held her hand and gave her an assuring look, "Don't worry May, we'll do something soon, but I want to see something first."

"Are you crazy?! Ash, that's a little kid, he's going to get stepped on by those guys. We have to do something!" Iris yelled at him, but the boy ignored her.

Bianca and Cilan knew that Ash had a plan just by looking at his gaze, but for some reason, the boy wanted to see the battle first.

"You asked for it kid, settle this Scolipede!" the grunt called out his most powerful Pokémon.

"Trubbish, use Take Down!" Avery commanded.

"Counter with a Double-Edge!" the Plasma Grunt countered.

Trubbish charged at Scolipede with full speed, but the Scolipede charged even faster and stronger, sending the Trash Bag Pokémon flying, but the Pokémon quickly got up.

Avery grinded his teeth, but attacked again, "Use Sludge!"

"Avery no, Scolipede is part Poison-type, it'll have no effect!" Avery's teacher, Daniela called out.

"Too late, Rollout Scolipede!" the grunt smirked and his Scolipede curved into a ball. The Bug-type started speeding like a wheel, dispersing the Sludge and send Trubbish flying yet again.

Scolipede cried out in victory while Trubbish struggled to get up. Avery grinded his teeth and realized that his Day Care and school were on the line, but he had to take a risk, "Trubbish, use Explosion!"

"How could a kid raise Trubbish to use Explosion?" the Plasma Grunt raised an eyebrow, but became shocked when he saw Trubbish glowing white. The Trash Bag Pokémon then exploded violently and sent Scolipede flying against the Day Care's exterior wall. The attack knocked out both Scolipede and Trubbish, but the victory ended in Avery's favor.

The children cheered for their friend's victory and cried his name in joy while the two women showed amazement; they had never seen a young boy show that much battling potential. Even Ash and the others became amazed when they saw the victory.

"The boy won…" were the only things the five teens could get out from their mouths.

When the kids finished cheering for Avery, the boy turned his attention back to Team Plasma, "I won, so now you have to get out of here!"

Team Plasma laughed at his remark and the leader smirked at him, "Sorry kid, but we came with a mission and we are not leaving till it has done. Go Boldore; use Stone Edge on the hopeless brat!"

The kids and older woman cried out in fear as Boldore shot out a barrage of sharp rocks. Daniela got in front of Avery and covered the child from the Rock-type attack, but before the attack could hit, an Iron Tail completely countered and cancelled out the Stone Edge.

"What?" the Team Plasma Grunt groaned and turned to see Ash with his friends. Team Plasma's eyes widened and they quickly recognized the boy and his friends.

The kids, Daniela, and the older woman were also surprised when they saw Ash make his surprise entrance. "Who are you?" the older woman asked them curiously.

"Just some travelers wishing to help," May winked at the woman, but frowned when she turned her attention back to Team Plasma.

Ash glared at the Plasma Grunt and spoke, "Why don't you pick on someone your size or me!"

The Plasma Grunt chuckled and smirked evilly, "We know you. You're Ash. Your actions in Accumula Town have made you a threat to N and we've been keeping an eye on you ever since."

Ash grinned at him slyly, "Thanks for the recognition, but I'm not here to talk, leave these people alone and go."

The grunt chuckled and mocked him, "Sorry, no can do. We'll just have to accept that you are here and with reinforcements, we'll continue with the operation. Team Plasma, get in and retrieve any Pokémon and eggs before the fire reaches them. I'll stay and battle the teenage punks."

"Right!" the Team Plasma members responded and rushed inside.

"May, Iris, Cilan, Bianca, you go inside too, stop Team Plasma and put out the fire before it gets worse. Pikachu you too, they'll need you. I'll stay here and take care of this guy," Ash ordered his friends.

May and the others nodded while Pikachu was hesitant at first, but then realized that he was needed more in there than by his friend. The mouse dashed inside as the residents of the Day Care watched the heroes take action.

The Team Plasma Grunt stared at him blankly, but then began speaking, "Let's end this quick, I don't have time for anymore battling."

"After seeing you get beaten by a kindergartner, I don't think any time will be wasted. Pidove, I choose you!" Ash mocked him and called for his Flying-type.

The Plasma Grunt groaned and yelled, "Fool, you are at a type disadvantage, Boldore use Stone Edge!"

"Pidove, dodge and use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded and the bird nimbly avoided the barrage of sharp stone.

Pidove successfully hit Boldore, but the Rock-type shook off the pain and the Plasma Grunt called for a Smack Down. Boldore shot a golden orb at Pidove, but Ash had other plans, "Counter with a full power Air Cutter!"

The bird's wings flapped violently and the energy attack cancelled out Smack Down. The Plasma Grunt smirked, "The things they say about you seem to be true after all, the boy who can overcome any disadvantage, the hero with ideals and who holds an iron will stronger than the blast of Zekrom."

"Things they say about me? How many times have people told me that already?" Ash frowned at his opponent, confused and distracted by his words.

"Far too many times, I believe," the grunt smirked and took advantage of Ash's distraction, "Boldore, Stone Edge!"

The Rock-type unleashed a barrage of sharp stone again, but this time it hit Pidove head-on and the Pokémon wailed in horrible pain as the stones cut through its feathers. Pidove struggled to get up, but it showed signs that it could continue.

Inside the Day Care, May and the others had split to retrieve the many eggs that were placed in different rooms. The brunette volunteered to go to the farthest room where the last portion of eggs was held at, but a Team Plasma Grunt received her when she entered.

"Little girl, these eggs are meant to be free, don't stand in the way," the female Team Plasma Grunt warned May to stay back.

"I don't think so," May glared at her and reached for a Pokeball.

The Team Plasma Grunt frowned and released her Pokémon, "Go Gurdurr!"

May had no time to see what Pokémon it was that the grunt just called out on her Pokedex, but she quickly reacted, "Purrloin, take the stage!"

"Stupid kid, I hold the advantage since Gurdurr is a Fighting-type and your Purrloin is a Dark-type, this should end quick," the woman mocked May.

The brunette grinned slyly and said, "Thanks for the info."

"Gurdurr, close in with a Superpower!" the woman extended her arm forward.

May smiled, "Purrloin, stop it with Sand-Attack!" The large Muscular Pokémon charged furiously at Purrloin, but the cat quickly blinded it by kicking sand in its face.

"Great, it's blinded! Now let's use Assist!" May commanded and Purrloin wasted no time in using a random move that her partners knew.

Suddenly, the cat began to glow a bright blue color and charged at Gurdurr with all its power. May's eyes widened, "Purrloin is using Blaziken's Brave Bird…I didn't think I'd get so lucky." The brunette smiled, knowing that Gurdurr couldn't stop Purrloin now.

The Team Plasma Grunt groaned and countered, "Fight back with Superpower!"

The two opponents charged at each other with full speed, both covered in aura and a large explosion was produced that destroyed most of the inside of the room, but in the end it was Gurdurr that flew through the wall of the room and dropped on the ground. The Muscular Pokémon groaned as it struggled to get up.

"This isn't over girl, Gurdurr prepare a Stone Edge!" the female commanded, not ready to give up the fight.

May smiled and spoke, "Purrloin now is a good time as any to use our combination. Let's show them our Multi-Shadow Ball!" the brunette made a fist when she declared her attack.

The Plasma Grunt became confused by the command and just watched as Gurdurr produced white energy that turned into stones. The sharp stones shout out in multitudes, but Purrloin grinned slyly and released numerous Shadow Balls that lined up for the cat.

"Puuurrrr…loooiiin!" the cat shrieked viciously and turned her claws purple. The Dark-type then proceeded to bashing every last Shadow Ball against Stone Edge. The barrage of Stone Edge and Shadow Ball caused another explosion to form between the two Pokémon.

May grinned at the result, knowing Purrloin had successfully countered Stone Edge. The female Team Plasma Grunt groaned when she saw the result and murmured, "Not only is the boy known for his superb skill, but she as well. They truly are more than meets the eye."

When the dust cleared, Purrloin coolly gazed at a panting Gurdurr, who had used up most of its energy using Stone Edge. The Plasma Grunt decided to take her final stand and made one last command, "Gurdurr use Focus Blast!"

"Gurduuuurrrr!" the Muscular Pokémon cried out in fury and released the blue energy ball at Purrloin.

May grinned confidently and countered, "Purrloin dodge it and wrap it up with Slash!" Purrloin nodded and charged at Focus Blast, confusing May at first since she was told to dodge, but the cat easily jumped over it, surprising Gurdurr and the grunt. Then with swift speed, the cat slashed Gurdurr with most her power and the Fighting-type Pokémon's eyes widened in pain, ultimately dropping to the ground unconscious.

"Purrloin we did it!" May cheered over their victory while the grunt returned her Pokémon and ran from May with all her speed.

The brunette let the female get away and returned to the room where she placed all the eggs in a bag before the fire could burn it all down. She hoped that Pikachu, Cilan, Iris, and Bianca had managed to get their parts done as well. She quickly exited the room and went in search of them.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Ash and Pidove were still struggling against Boldore and the grunt. _I don't know how long I can keep him at bay; I need to come up with a strategy fast_, Ash thought in his mind, recognizing the grunt's skill in battle. Pidove kept getting up after getting put down so many times, but for how long?

The grunt chuckled at Ash, "Give it up, your time is up."

Ash merely frowned at him, not knowing what to say. All of a sudden, something burst out of the ground without warning and Ash saw a Sandile in front of him.

"What?" the Plasma Grunt became surprised when he saw the new opponent.

Ash saw something familiar in the Sandile, its sunglasses were a giveaway, but where had he seen it before? _This Sandile, I met it not too long ago, but when and where? _The boy began remembering many of his adventures so far in Unova and then came across one that made his eyes widened_, that's it! This Sandile is the same one that helped us during the geyser incident!_

"Sandile, did you follow us here?" Ash asked the Sandile he had met about a month ago.

"Sand sandile," the croc nodded at Ash.

Ash wondered why, but there was no time for that now and asked, "Do you want to help me win this battle, I could really use your help!"

"Sandile sand!" the Ground-type Pokémon cheerfully nodded and Ash grinned confidently.

Ash turned his attention back to the Plasma Grunt who glared at him. The raven-haired teen smiled confidently, "Now it gets real, this time you're going to lose."

The Plasma Grunt didn't say anything and declared an attack, "Boldore, use Stone Edge!"

"Sandile, use…" Ash prepared to call out a move, but Sandile acted without command. The croc's back began to glow white and launched multiple stones to counter.

"Hey, that's Stone Edge, good counter Sandile!" Ash praised the Sandile's quick thinking, which it returned with a grin.

The Plasma Grunt groaned and made another command, "Show no mercy Boldore! Now use Headbutt!"

"Sandile, use Dig to dodge!" Ash came up with a quick counter.

Sandile went underground while Boldore missed its mark and began to search for the croc. The Team Plasma Grunt glared at the ground, trying to deduct its location, but like Boldore, the man was unable to.

Ash chuckled, knowing he had Boldore right where he wanted it. The boy grinned confidently and made a command, "Sandile, prepare to…" but he was interrupted yet again by the Sandile's own moves.

The Sandile burst underneath Boldore and sent the large rock flying. The Ore Pokémon caused a tremor when it landed on the ground violently. Boldore barely managed to get up and the Team Plasma Grunt noted that Boldore hardly had enough power to keep going, but Ash and Sandile were nowhere near done.

The auburn-eyed teen made a fist and punched into the air while declaring his final move, "Sandile, finish this with a Stone Edge!"

Sandile released another barrage of sharp stones, but neither Boldore nor its trainer showed the intention of giving up. "Boldore, use a full power Headbutt! Bash through every last stone and send that croc flying!" the grunt made his final move as well.

Boldore rushed through Sandile's barrage of stones head-on and broke through each one. The Ore Pokémon finally reached Sandile and sent the Ground-type flying into the air. "Sandile!" Ash yelled out when it saw the croc flying far from them while crying out its name.

The grunt huffed, but then saw Boldore dropping on the ground unconscious. "No it can't be…" the Plasma Grunt murmured, feeling victory taken from his hands in just a few seconds.

Ash sighed over Sandile's blast off, but returned Pidove and thanked it for its great efforts. The messy-haired teen shifted his attention to children whose faces became relieved when they saw that Boldore had been defeated, the woman and the elder also showed signs of relief.

"You've lost, it's time for you to leave," Ash glared at his opponent who stared at him blankly.

At that moment, multiple Team Plasma members ran out of a now safe Day Care. The fire had clearly been put out and the Plasma Grunts all had defeated faces on their looks. _Looks like we won_, Ash thought and smiled, knowing that May and the others had saved the day.

"Sir, we have to retreat, the children proved stronger than we had thought," a female grunt told the leader.

The one in charge of the operation nodded and took one last glance of Ash. "Indeed," he answered and jetpack wings come out of his knight shirt. The other Plasma Grunts followed him and showed jetpack wings, then without wasting another moment they flew off into the air without looking Ash, having faced an embarrassing defeat at the hands of children.

Ash just smirked at the fleeing Team Plasma until they vanished from sight. "Ash looks like we did it!" Cilan cheered in joy when he ran out of the room.

"We defeated the bad guys and put out the fire!" Iris also cried in joy as she ran out with May and Bianca.

"It was a little tough, but with Pikachu helping us out, we made it through," Bianca complimented Ash's helpful friend.

"We saw them fly off in their jetpacks right now too, May's Detective Agency has defeated criminals yet again," May giggled, feeling like she should bring up her childish fantasy about being a detective just to fit with the moment.

"Pika pikachu pi!" Pikachu cried out in victory.

Ash congratulated his friends and the job well done, but their attention turned back to the victims. "Are you okay? We're sorry about the sudden appearance, but we knew we had to do something," Ash spoke to the women and children.

"No, thank you, you saved our school and Day Care. We don't know what we could have done without you!" Avery jumped out of Daniela's arms and praised the young heroes. The other kid's followed him and praised the teenagers, making them blush in embarrassment.

"What you did was very heroic, you not only saved this entire building," Daniela looked at the damaged, but fixable building and turned back to Ash and the others, "But you saved us from who knows what danger."

"You acted with noble hearts and that is a certain quality within humans that only few possess," the older woman gave them a short, but sweet sign of thankfulness.

"We'd invite you for some tea, but as you can see, our home is not fit enough for guests right now," Daniela looked down at the ground sadly.

Iris grinned and spoke, "It's ok Daniela. At least we saved most of it. This place should be fixed in no time."

"Hey, why don't we help them rebuild it?" Ash suggested to his friends.

"Of course!" Cilan answered in joy.

"That's a great idea Ash!" Bianca cheered.

"I'm all for it!" May replied joyfully.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu also cheerfully accepted.

"Then it's settled, we'll help as best as we can to fix the Day Care!" Ash turned to the group with a smile across his face.

The women and children were surprised by the kindness that the teenagers offered, but they knew that they would need all the help they could get to rebuild the Day Care and in a week's time they successfully repaired the home, making it look good as new.

* * *

**One Week Later…**

Ash and the group stood in front of the newly repaired Day Care. It was structured in the same way as the last, but there was a kinder sense to it. The older woman turned to Ash and the others.

"Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Bianca, and to all the Pokémon you have used to help us during this last week, thank you. At this point we are not thankful for what you have done, we are grateful for it and the experience we shared with you will be remembered very fondly among us, from my old generation to the new," the elder looked at the teens, then at Daniela, and then the children.

"We never asked for so much help, but you stepped up and decided to do just that. My heart feels a wonderful feeling of gratitude towards all of you and this memory will serve as the model for many things in my life, thank you," Daniela thanked the gang one final time for their actions.

"You are our heroes, you came swooping in here like a superhero and saved the day. All of you helped us fight the bad guys and rebuild our beautiful home, so Ash, we want you to have this," Avery, Trubbish, and the children thanked Ash with an egg in a container.

The elder laughed weakly and smiled, "We would've liked to have given you all eggs, but this one is the only one near hatching."

May smiled and spoke for the rest of the group, "It doesn't matter ma'am. I think the best gift was the feeling all of us gained inside when we saw that we fixed the Day Care, those ties of love, friendship, and care for one another is what rebuilt this center."

"Indeed it has May, for a young woman, you have a lot of wisdom, you are going to have a fine future, I can see you with a wonderful husband and children," the elder complimented May and looked at Ash during the last part of the remark, making the brunette blush slightly.

Ash also blushed slightly when he noticed the sign, but made no comment. Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Bianca, who now knew of their relationship laughed at the adorable exchange between the two. The kids also began teasing the two teens and resorted to the traditional "Sitting in a Tree" song, making the couple blush even more, but the entire group shared a good laugh.

When they had finally said their goodbyes to the residents of the Day Care, the gang got back on the road and prepared to say goodbye to Bianca. "Bianca, it was really great getting to know you, we made a new friend during this one week," Ash smiled at the emerald-eyed girl.

"You really helped a lot during this whole situation, Professor Juniper is lucky to have someone so helpful around," May grinned at her new friend.

"Yeah, with those skills, you'll become a great professor," Iris complimented the blond-haired girl.

"I'm sure Professor Juniper will be happy to know why you have been gone for so long, because you were doing what anyone else likes to do, helping others, a sweet flavor in a recipe indeed," Cilan complimented Bianca as well.

Bianca grinned at the all the nice things her friends said to her and spoke, "Thank you all so much, I had not traveled out with friends like this in a few years and I'm happy I got to do so much with you guys. I won't forget this and I hope we meet again soon."

"We will," Ash and his friends said simultaneously.

Bianca turned her back to her friends and smiled at them one last before saying goodbye. Within seconds the blond-haired girl was off, running at the same incredible speed they had seen her arrive with a week ago.

The friends smiled and continued on their walk to Nacrene City. The trip may have been delayed by a week, but Ash's spirit was as high as ever and with May's contest nearby, the brunette had a fire inside her burning brighter than ever.

**That was Ch 11, hope you liked it! Feel free to review about anything regarding the chapter! I honestly had some trouble with this chapter because I wanted to introduce Bianca and have Ash gain his egg, but I wanted to make it more interesting so I added Team Plasma. After the Nacrene City Arc, I will try to focus back on Ash and May because for now it'll be more about the villainous teams, but don't worry. Many chapters on Ash and May are set to come. Next Chapter will be major to the plot and we will see another character debut. The next one or two chapters should be up within a week so till then!**


	12. One Loss Equals One Victory

Chapter 12: Soldier

"Ash, you shouldn't have been so hasty earlier about battling me. You could have started to read a little before even challenging me, you could have even learned a thing or two about me or my strategy," Lenora told the raven-haired boy with a smug look.

Ash smiled confidently and responded, "I already know what I need to know, I've waited too long to get to Nacrene City just to read a book and after training hard out in the wild, I know I'm going to win."

"Wow, Ash seems pretty excited about getting his second badge. He has a hasty look on his face and that confidence seems higher than usual," Iris mentioned a few things regarding Ash's confident gaze.

"I'm worried that he may be too confident in his abilities, Lenora seems to have already noticed that and might use it in her strategy," Cilan rubbed his chin with a concerned look on his face.

May also seemed a bit worried about Ash's attitude, "Ash let his confidence get to him once before in the past, when he fought an Elite Four Member of Hoenn, he ended up losing badly. I just hope this won't be a repeat of that event," the brunette told her two friends about the story. She recalled Ash's loss against Drake of the Elite Four, it was the first time in a while since Ash had finally lost a match and it was because of his overconfidence. _I hope that doesn't happen again this time, Ash can't lose_; May sighed over the boy's confidence and turned to the battlefield.

Hawes, Lenora's husband and judge during her gym battles stood between the two battlers and stated the rules, "This will be a 3-on-3 battle between Gym Leader Lenora and Ash from Pallet Town. Trainers are allowed to switch Pokémon and the challenger is always up first, you may now begin!"

"Tepig, let's get em!" Ash grinned and called his Fire-type.

Tepig got on the battlefield and blew fire out of his nose while calling out its name, "Tepig!" the pig cried, ready for battle.

Lenora smirked and reached for her Pokeball, "Cinccino it's time to win!" the woman called out her Scarf Pokémon, who stood proudly on the battlefield.

"What a beautiful Pokémon!" May clasped her hands together and her eyes glistened with admiration.

"It's a deadly charm May, this won't be easy," Cilan remarked, familiar with the power of Cinccino.

Pikachu and Ash smiled at Tepig from their side of the field, confident about the pig's abilities. Ash extended his arm out and made a command, "Tepig, use Ember!"

"It's useless Ash, Cinccino counter with Rock Blast!" Lenora cried out. Cinccino's head began to glow a bright orange and then fired two silver, spinning energy waves. The attack easily blasted through Ember and charged at Tepig.

Ash remained calm and countered, "Tepig, dodge it now!"

Tepig tried to jump out of harm's way, but the attack was much too fast and sent Tepig crashing against the dirt. The fire Pokémon grinded its teeth as it got up and glared at Cinccino. Ash wasted no time in attacking again and called out his next move, "Tepig, let's use Tackle this time at full speed!"

"Teeepig!" Tepig yelled and charged at Cinccino.

"Cinccino, use Hidden Power to blast Tepig away!" Lenora countered Ash's move.

"Tepig, dodge Hidden Power!" Ash cried out.

Cinccino created multiple energy balls that shined a bright, white color. The Scarf Pokémon then united them to form one large ball and shot it at Tepig. The fire pig was barely able to avoid the attack, but Lenora's attacked missed.

Lenora grinned confidently, "I got you right where I want you, Cinccino, use Thunder Wave!"

"Wha?" Ash's eyes widened when he heard the woman. Tepig narrowly dodge Hidden Power, but before Tepig could react, Cinccino released a blue, electrical ray that paralyzed the pig.

Tepig wailed in pain while Ash and Pikachu were in a state of surprise. Cilan and the others were also shocked by Lenora's clever maneuver. Cilan's jaw dropped and began to speak, "Clever, Lenora used Hidden Power as a distraction for Tepig while Cinccino prepared to use Thunder Wave. Tepig would have never seen it coming because it had been too busy avoiding Hidden Power."

Iris and May were also astonished by the brilliant tactic that Lenora had used; she was clearly a formidable opponent. "Tepig, can you move?" Ash asked his friend, but the pig obviously was not able to, grunting every time it took a step, its body surrounded by yellow sparks.

Lenora smirked and made her final command, "Finish this with Giga Impact!" Ash tried to order Tepig to dodge, but the pain didn't allow Tepig to move very fast and Cinccino rushed at an incredible speed. Cinccino became surrounded by an invisible energy and a bright, yellow flash appeared in front of its face. The Scarf Pokémon shot itself at the immobilized Tepig and sent the pig flying.

Tepig slammed against the wall and dropped to the ground unconscious. Hawes declared Tepig unable to battle and returned it, grinding his teeth in frustration. _I had hoped that Tepig could defeat Cinccino, but it was obviously too powerful, I'll need to come up with something quick_, Ash put Tepig's Pokeball away and reached for another.

Lenora chuckled and spoke, "Not bad Ash, Tepig managed to dodge Hidden Power and endured my Cinccino's Rock Blast, but that clearly wasn't enough. I think I'm going to change Pokémon, let's see how you fair against some of my others." Her words surprised Ash and she threw another Pokeball, "Watchog, let's go!"

_Watchog, no problem, I can still win this_; Ash returned to his calm demeanor and called out, "Oshawott, you're up!"

Oshawott appeared proudly on the battlefield and smirked at Watchog. "Osha oshawott osha," the otter crossed its arms arrogantly and waited for Ash's command.

Ash grinned excitedly and made his command, "Oshawott, let's show them a Razor Shell!"

Oshawott grinned confidently and turned its scalchop into a blade. The otter then began rushing at Watchog with all its speed. Lenora gave Oshawott a smug look and ordered, "Detect!"

When Oshawott leaped in to hit Watchog, the Lookout Pokémon easily avoided the attack, Lenora grinned and saw the opening, "Now use Thunderbolt!"

Before Ash could come up with a counter attack, Watchog released a bolt of lightning that sent Oshawott flying against the ground. Oshawott groaned as it got up, but Lenora demanded another Thunderbolt.

"Block it with your scalchop!" Ash commanded just in time. Oshawott lifted its shell and managed to send the Thunderbolt against the roof.

"Impressive," Lenora remarked, but undoubtedly had more tricks up her sleeve. She crossed her arms and spoke, "Watchog, close in for a Low Kick!"

"Oshawott, flip over Watchog and use Razor Shell!" Ash ordered. Watchog appeared in front of Oshawott within seconds and tried to kick Oshawott, but the otter quickly flipped over the Pokémon and slammed the Lookout Pokémon against the ground.

Before the dust cleared, Watchog quickly got up and sent Oshawott flying with a Rock Smash. Ash grinded his teeth when he saw Oshawott struggling to get up, but Lenora gave no time for them to react and ordered Watchog to use, "Confuse Ray!"

Watchog launched a yellow orb at Oshawott that enveloped him and turned his eyes into stars. "Gotcha," Lenora smirked and made her final command, "Finish this with Hidden Power!" Ash and his friends watched as Oshawott wandered the battlefield helplessly. Watchog created multiple orbs like Cinccino, but united them to create a large ball that shot out a ray of energy at Oshawott.

The Water-type crashed into the dirt by the attack, leaving it unconscious. Hawes declared Oshawott unable to battle and Ash returned Oshawott into its ball with a look of frustration on his face.

"Ash is down to only one Pokémon and Lenora still has three," Iris had a concerned look on her face, Ash's defeat seemed imminent.

"Indeed, this battle is visibly in favor of Lenora," Cilan watched with an anxious expression.

Like Ash, May grinded her teeth in frustration, as if she were battling against Lenora. The sapphire-eyed girl felt an uneasy feeling inside her, _is he going to lose_?

_Down to one Pokémon, I have to make this count_, Ash thought and reached for his next Pokémon while Pikachu gave Ash a worried look, as if the mouse sensed the impending loss. Ash sighed and called out his next Pokémon, "Pidove, it's your turn!"

Pidove hovered over the battlefield with a cool look across its face, ready for battle. Lenora again surprised Ash by returning Watchog, "Looks like you're down to your last Pokémon Ash, you better have a backup plan because this last one can be your ruination!"

Lenora smirked and summoned her last Pokémon, "Go, Stoutland!" Ash and the others became intimidated by the fearsome dog-like Pokémon that appeared before them.

Without a comment, May reached her Pokedex to see what the machine had to say. "Stoutland, the Big-Hearted Pokémon and the evolved form of Herdier, Stoutland is very wise and is skilled in rescuing people stranded in the mountains or at sea." May calmly put her Pokedex away, she could tell that this was Lenora's strongest Pokémon.

"Stoutland, use Surf!" Lenora ordered. Stoutland roared and a large wave of water came bursting out of the ground, charging towards Pidove.

Ash clenched his fist and made a command, "Pidove, shoot right through it with as much speed as possible!"

Pidove cooed and dashed towards the wave-like a bullet, breaking through it like a barrier. Lenora chuckled and spoke, "Smart move Ash, but you're going to need more than that."

"Huh?" Ash had a confused look on. Suddenly, when Pidove broke through the wave something charged at it and sent the bird back flying through the wave. Pidove had static covering its body and the wave disappeared the moment Pidove bashed through.

The auburn-eyed boy's eyes widened, "But how?"

Lenora smirked at Ash and spoke, "Wild Charge, an Electric-type move that works like Take Down, except it is Electric-type."

Pidove got on its feet, but had a hard time fighting against the static. Ash grinded his teeth and cried out, "Pidove, use Quick Attack now!"

"Dodge, Stoutland!" Lenora countered and the dog-like Pokémon easily moved away, avoiding the fast attack.

"Amazing, Stoutland is fast and as tactical as Lenora. It managed to use Surf as a cover-up for Wild Charge and has shown speed that is enough to dodge quick enough, this might end very sour," Cilan rubbed his chin with anxiety while Iris watched with fear and May clenched her fist, concern in her eyes.

"Stoutland, use Swagger," Stoutland's trainer ordered with confidence.

Stoutland looked into Pidove's eyes and let a deep breath out as if taunting Pidove. The gaze was enough to infuriate Pidove and cause the bird to use Air Cutter. Stoutland easily dodged it and Pidove tried Gust, but Stoutland dodged again.

Ash's jaw dropped as Pidove attacked without any command, "What's wrong, Pidove is just attacking and disobeying me."

"That's because Swagger is a move that increases the opponent's attack, but confuses it in the process. Basically, my Stoutland just taunted Pidove with a gaze to the point where it had become furious and attacks senselessly. Give it up Ash, you've lost!" Lenora pointed her finger at Ash and smiled.

Ash grinded his teeth and made a command, "Pidove, snap out of it and use Gust!" Pidove paid no attention to Ash and kept using Air Cutter.

Lenora crossed her arms and made her last command, "Shoot Pidove down with Hyper Beam." Stoutland dodged Air Cutter and released the high-powered attack, the beam hit Pidove head on and the pigeon dropped to the ground with swirl eyes.

"Pidove is unable to battle, the trainer has no Pokémon left and therefore, Lenora is the winner!" Hawes announced while Lenora and Ash returned their Pokémon.

Ash gave Pidove's Pokeball a weak smiling; knowing that like Tepig and Oshawott, Pidove had tried its best. The black-haired teen put away his Pokeball and turned to Lenora.

Lenora gave Ash a serious gaze and spoke, "Ash the confidence in your abilities was the thing that took a toll on your abilities. You're idea that by rushing through this battle you were going to win was completely wrong. Your hastiness and overconfidence led to your defeat, it's a disappointment because you may not have known it, but I have heard of your endeavors in other regions and I had expected more. You may return to battle me again, but I recommend you be ready next time."

"Thank you for the battle Lenora, I'm sorry for the letdown," Ash felt anger and sadness coursing through his veins. The auburn-eyed boy's frustrated eyes met May's and then ran away, leaving the gym.

May quickly got up and spoke to Iris and Cilan, "I'm going to check on him, I'll see you guys later," the brunette informed them.

Cilan and Iris nodded while May went off with Pikachu in search of Ash. May ran through the gym and museum, reaching the exit of the building, this was the first time in ages that May had seen Ash lose like that, he stood zero chance against Lenora. When she and Pikachu left the building they looked around and spotted Ash sitting on a bench by the entrance.

The sapphire-eyed girl and the mouse approached the sad-looking boy who didn't even look up at them. May sat next to him while Pikachu got her shoulders and the pair looked at the boy. "Ash…" May said his name to get his attention.

"Yeah?" Ash looked up at her with a sad expression.

"You shouldn't let one defeat bring you down so hard. You did your best," May smiled at him warmly.

Ash shifted his gaze to the ground and spoke, "Not only were my Pokémon nothing in comparison to Lenora's, but I let my own confidence get to me and I lost. When will I learn that just because I can beat a few strangers and some bad guys, doesn't mean I can defeat the whole world?"

May sighed and spoke again, "It happens to all of us Ash, sometimes we let our abilities get the best of us and make us believe that we're unbeatable. That all stops when we lose though, but the reality hits us hard and we realize that we still have more to learn, but the lesson from that experience is that we can't give in and we can never rest because it is like the ultimate test. The battle may be on, but we have to carry on and get up. I've seen you do it after you lost to Brawly, when you lost to Tyson, and when you lost to Brandon. You got up after those defeats and look where it got you, you got into the Top 8 of the Hoenn League, you defeated the Battle Frontier, and you were Top 4 in the Sinnoh League."

"Where are you getting at?" Ash turned to his girlfriend, still confused.

"What I am getting at Ash, is that despite everything, you still overcome the situation. You are always willing to get up and continue pursuing your goal, nothing gets in your way and you shouldn't let today's defeat bring you down. You have what it takes to beat Lenora, you just need to train, no one knows how to overcome these struggles like you do because you have a spirit harder than iron. The iron willpower inside you is what has made you come so far, it's that will that has made you the person you are today. Your willpower is what makes you place the life of your friends before your safety, it is what makes you an unstoppable force and that's the Ash I am in love with, the one who will never let anything overcome him. You've done it before and you can do it again, you can beat Lenora, Ash," May smiled at him tenderly and ran her fingers through his hair.

Ash formed a smile and the original glow on his face returned, "Where did all that come from May?"

May giggled and answered, "You've cheered me up so much whenever I lost to Drew or someone, I guess I just gained the knack to do the same and I feel like I am returning the favor."

"Well, you're better at it than I am, thank you May, for making me feel better," the auburn-eyed teen grabbed her hand and leaned in for a kiss. The sapphire-eyed girl used her free hand to place it on his cheek and began caressing his face while he caressed her hand.

Ash used his other hand to run his fingers through her hair and felt himself become lost in a warm light. He got so close to May that he felt himself heating up, he felt her heartbeat and she could feel the edges of his hair tickling her face, she felt her heartbeat increase at an incredible rate as Ash pressed up against her. She was just as lost in the kissing and tongue playing as he was.

Pikachu got off May's shoulder and just laughed nervously as the two kissed. He stood on the ground and looked at the museum, wishing that he hadn't left, but he thought Ash would have needed him. It was clear to the mouse though, that May was enough to cheer him up, his words were no longer needed because just the touch of her breath was enough to Ash feel good inside. The mantle of closest companion belonged to May from here on and Pikachu happily accepted it, Ash deserved nothing more than her, than May, than the love of his life.

All of a sudden, Pikachu saw Iris and Cilan coming out of the museum. The pair ran up to Ash and May with a cheery looks. Iris smiled at Ash and May, "You guys seem to be having a tender moment," the purple-haired girl stated.

"Love can heal wounds, can't they?" Cilan grinned, noticing the much happier expression on Ash's face.

Ash and May laughed while their three friends smiled at them. Ash got up from the bench and made a fist, "That's right, my spirits are high again and I'm ready to train."

"A perfect idea indeed, why don't we go to the local Battle Club and start your training, Ash," Cilan recommended going to the Nacrene Battle Club.

The raven-haired teen formed a confident grin, "Right, then next stop is the Battle Club." The auburn-eyed teen agreed and jetted off in search of the facility with his four friends right behind him.

After several minutes, Ash finally spotted the Battle Club and wasted no time in going inside. "You've come to the right if you want to get some training done young man," a man who looked a lot like the Don George from Luxuria spoke to Ash and his friends.

May and the others all noticed this, but the brunette was the one most curious about the resemblance. "Hey, you look a lot like Don George from Luxuria Town," the sapphire-eyed girl mentioned.

Don George changed the topic momentarily to answer May, "That's because all of my brothers look-alike and we're all named Don George, including myself, take a look at the photo over there," Don George pointed to a photo placed on the wall of himself with all the other brothers that looked exactly like him.

The teens all turned to the photo and saw that the only difference among the brothers were the stripes on their shirts, one had blue, another had green, the other had yellow, etc. After taking a look at the photo, Don George spoke again, "Anyway, I'm more than happy to help you with your training. Lenora is famous for using multiple tricks like Confuse Ray and Thunder Wave in order to win. I have a room for intense training, which can help your Pokémon become much faster, stronger, and tactical so you don't fall for Lenora's traps."

Ash turned his hands into fists and spoke eagerly, "That's awesome, then let's get started!"

Don George nodded and tapped a button his wall. The wall automatically began sliding, revealing a room with a treadmill. Aside from the treadmill, there were weights and other things for bodybuilding. Don George turned to Ash and the others, "So according to you, the Pokémon you used against Lenora were a Tepig, Oshawott, and Pidove. This treadmill will be used to train Tepig."

"Alright, then come out Tepig!" Ash reached for Tepig's Pokeball and summoned the fire pig.

Tepig appeared in front of Ash and the pig huffed out some smoke from its nostrils. "Tepig, we're going to start training so we can beat Lenora, you ready?" Ash kneeled down to tell the pig what was going on.

"Tepig!" Tepig huffed in excitement and looked at Don George with an anticipated gaze.

"Show us what you're made of Ash!" May exclaimed, encouraging her boyfriend to strive for the max. Iris, Pikachu, and Cilan also encouraged Ash in the same way and the black-haired teen smiled in return for their support.

"Ash, you will also have to train with your Pokémon because it shows that you are ready to stand beside your Pokémon for all challenges. Your training with them will be a sign of encouragement and that will make your Pokémon more confident about themselves," Don George told the young trainer.

Ash turned to Tepig and nodded. His gaze then turned to Don George and spoke, "No problem!"

"Good, now let's get started. Please get on the treadmill with Tepig and begin running as soon as I turn on the machine," Don George instructed and duo got on the treadmill.

Don George began pressing several buttons, causing the treadmill to begin operating. Ash and Tepig began running a bit when the machine started operating, but they were still at ease. "Hey, if the whole training is like this then it's going to be a breeze, huh Tepig?" Ash smiled at his fire starter and continued running, not putting too much energy into his exercise.

"Tepig!" Tepig cheered and ran on the treadmill without difficulty.

"Then let's kick it up a notch, this will surely put some speed into you," Don George tapped a button multiple times and the conveyor belt began to move quicker.

Ash put some effort this time as well as Tepig and they began to sweat. "Looks like we'll have to run even faster this time Tepig, let's show Don George, not even a machine can stop us," Ash grinned confidently and ran faster, Tepig followed his lead and began running faster as well.

Don George chuckled while May and the others smiled at the duo's efforts to overcome Don George's first trial. "Hey Ash's doing it, he and Tepig are able to keep up with the machine," Iris stated with joy.

"At this rate, they'll be ready to battle Lenora in no time," Cilan crossed his arms and smiled happily.

"That's the way Ash," May muttered and grinned cheerfully.

"Ash, now I'm going to activate a device that shoots out dodge balls. The purpose of this part of the trial is to help you dodge any projectile attacks Lenora would use in battle, they will shoot out pretty fast so you can Tepig will have to be ready," Don George told Ash and activated the machine.

Unfortunately, Ash had been too distracted and hadn't paid attention. All of a sudden, he saw cannon-like machines come out of the wall and they shot out dodge balls. "What's going on?" Ash's eyes widened and tried to dodge one of the balls, but it was too quick and the sphere sent Ash flying off the treadmill.

Tepig also tried to dodge, but they came at the pig too quick and he fell off as well. Ash lied on the ground, his face became red from the impact, but the boy laughed the pain off while Tepig groaned and got up.

"I wasn't expecting that," Cilan raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"Guess this is going to be harder than I thought," Iris sighed while May giggled at Ash's reaction; the brunette wasn't too worried about the surprise assault Don George had activated.

"C'mon Tepig, there's no time to waste, we have to do this!" Ash got on his feet and Tepig shook his head in acknowledgement. The pair rushed back on the treadmill and began dodging as many dodge balls as possible.

For the next hour, the duo dodged many of the balls, getting hit several times, but they just got up again and tried again. Each time they got bashed off the treadmill by a dodge ball, the pair wasted no time in getting up and running and each time they did that, they became better, dodging nearly every dodge ball coming their way.

Don George and the others smiled at the progress they were seeing. "They got the hand of this quick, but let's see how they do at max level," Don George spoke and began pressing all the buttons on the panel.

"What is Don George doing?" May saw the way the man's fingers were motioning, confused by the sight.

"Looks like he's going to push them to the fullest," Cilan analyzed the sight.

"That doesn't sound good," Iris became a little concerned over Don George's final part of the first trial.

"Ax axew ew," Axew came out of Iris's hair and looked at Ash and Tepig.

"Pi pi pikachu," Pikachu also watched with angst, the mouse having been silent throughout the entire training session.

Ash realized that the conveyor belt began motioning faster and the dodge balls shot out quicker. "Is it me or did things just get a lot harder, the machines operating much faster now," Ash tried to keep up, but struggled. The auburn-eyed boy and Tepig were sweating a lake as they tried to dodge as many dodge balls as possible while keeping up.

"Tepig…tepig…tepig…tepig," Tepig jumped over multiple dodge balls while panting heavily, things for him and his trainer were getting much more intense, none of them knew how long they would last.

"Hey Don George, you mind slowing it down a bit!" the raven-haired teen yelled, sweat dripping down from his messy hair and onto his face, the boy tried to ignore the burning sensation in his eye from some of the sweat that landed there.

Don George shook his head sideways, "Sorry Ash, but this is training at its maximum. You need to overcome this challenge in order to prepare yourself for Lenora."

The black-haired teen sighed and returned his attention to the dodge balls, one of them nearly shot him off the treadmill, but the ball missed him by an inch. After a few more minutes Don George saw that Ash and Tepig were hardly able to keep up and began to speak, "Time to end this."

Don George began moving his fingers swiftly across the keyboard while Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, and Axew watched Ash and Tepig train at their peak. May grinned confidently, after the conversation she had with Ash earlier, she knew he'd overcome Don George's challenge.

Suddenly, a barrage of dodge balls shot out from one of the cannons within a matter of seconds. Ash's eyes widened with shock and spoke, "There's like ten dodge balls coming straight at us, Tepig we have to react as quick as we can, get ready!"

The boy didn't get a response from Tepig though and the trainer turned to the pig. His auburn eyes began to shine excitedly when he saw Tepig becoming enveloped in a bright fire, the pig kept running on the treadmill with all its speed and as it did, the fire became even more intense, making Ash swept a bite more.

"What is Tepig doing?" Iris gazed with amazement.

"It's Flame Charge," May answered, answering something Cilan would normally state.

"Tepig's unleashing its newest attack, its ready to fight back with full force," Cilan watched with admiration, smiling at the sight of Tepig using Flame Charge.

Don George chuckled, "This is what I was aiming for the whole time."

When the balls were just a few inches away from Ash and Tepig, the fire pig leaped in front of Ash, leaving a stream of fire behind it and the starter vaporized the set of dodge balls with its intense heat. The charge turned the balls into ashes with its powerful flames.

Ash grinned joyfully when he saw Tepig destroy the dodge balls. The pig then dropped on the treadmill again, but Don George stopped the machine from operating, finally letting the pair rest.

The duo let out a sigh of relief and got off the treadmill, Ash and Tepig grinned at each other happily. Ash began laughing and spoke, "Tepig you learned Flame Charge, way to go!"

"Tepig!" the pig jumped into the boy's arms in joy and the two laughed.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu came from nowhere and got on Ash's shoulder to congratulate his friend.

"You did it Ash, you passed the first challenge, good job," Don George nodded with approval.

"And Tepig learned Flame Charge!" Iris cheered with happiness.

"I knew you could do it," May spoke with a joyous tone, wishing she could hug Ash, but the boy was so sweaty, it looked like he went into a pool with his clothes.

Ash smiled at his friends, "Thanks guys, I didn't expect Tepig to learn Flame Charge, but that move will come in handy when I face Lenora."

"Are you ready for the next trial though?" Cilan asked with curiosity.

"Sure am!" Ash made a fist and grinned confidently.

Don George got in front of Ash's friends and spoke, "Well then, let's start now. This next challenge will be in a pool so that can refresh you from all the running and just leave your clothes in the locker room, my employees will make sure they get cleaned and dried. Oshawott is our next center of attention."

Ash nodded and smiled at his friends again, but his gaze focused on May, who winked at him as a sign of good luck. The raven-haired teen thanked Tepig for his accomplishment and returned him to his Pokeball while Pikachu returned to May, the auburn-eyed teen wasted no time in changing and meeting up with Don George.

The boy ran out of the locker room with his swimsuit on and reached for Oshawott's Pokéball, "Oshawott, come on out!" Ash released Oshawott and jumped into the pool. The raven-haired boy felt refreshed in the cool water and saw Oshawott swimming coolly in the water with him.

"Osha oshaaaawott," Oshawott swam with his back against the water and a relaxed attitude.

Ash smiled at his Pokémon, but then saw the waterfall in front of them, it was an artificial one, but it was pretty long and wide for an artificial pool inside a building. The auburn-eyed teen became fascinated by it and stared at it for a few seconds.

Then Don George and the others entered the room. "Ash, I see you are all set for the next part of our training session," Don George spoke to the boy.

"That's right, so Don George, what do we do here?" Ash asked the older man with a curious attitude.

"It's very similar to what you did with Tepig, except you have to swim against the currents that will try to push you back. Keep in mind, there will be surprises here as well," Don George warned Ash about other obstacles beside the current.

Ash nodded and turned to Oshawott, who had stopped swimming had listened to everything Don George had said. The Pallet teen grinned at the water starter and spoke, "You ready Oshawott?"

Oshawott grinned confidently and spoke, "Osh oshawott!"

"Good, let's begin," Don George stated and got behind the panel while May, Pikachu, Iris, and Cilan sat on the bench to watch.

"So he basically has to swim against the current, sounds pretty easy," Iris gave her opinion about the task.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Don George said he would pull a few tricks as well," Cilan mentioned what Don George had said about other surprises being in store for the pair.

"Ash and Oshawott will be able to handle it, I know they can, right Pikachu?" May made a fist and spoke highly of her boyfriend, and then she turned her gaze to Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded confidently and made a fist, mimicking May's actions.

Oshawott and Ash got in positions and began to swim against the current. It was pretty easy for the pair since the current seemed easier to swim against than keeping up with the conveyor belt.

Oshawott swam on his back while Ash calmly swam against the current with ease. "Hey Don George, mind kicking it up a notch, Oshawott and I don't even have to try," Ash told the man in charge of the Battle Club.

"If you say so," Don George answered and pulled a lever. All of a sudden, a much stronger current pushed Ash, nearly drowning the auburn-eyed teen, but Oshawott remained cool and continued to swim with his back against the water.

Ash spit out some water that got into his mouth thanks to the sudden and more powerful current, "That's what I'm talking about, this is just what we needed," the teen said and swam against the current.

The raven-haired struggled a bit trying to swim against the current, but still managed to do it while Oshawott still swam easily. "Ash may be having a bit of a hard time swimming against the current, but Oshawott isn't even trying." Cilan took notice of the swimming style between the pair.

"Wonder how long this will go on," Iris thought in her mind.

May and Pikachu on the other hand, kept their eyes on Don George, waiting for the man to press another button that would cause even Oshawott to struggle this time. After 15 minutes, Ash's muscles were finally tiring and the boy was slowly moving back because of the current's push, but Oshawott continued swimming in the same style as 15 minutes ago.

"Oshawott's not even putting in half the effort, looks like I'll have to play my card sooner than I thought," Don George murmured and pulled another lever, which May and Pikachu took note of. The observant pair turned to Ash and Oshawott, waiting to see how they would react.

All of a sudden, the current became even stronger, pushing Ash into the water and causing the boy to choke on it while Oshawott was also taken by surprise and got pushed into the water as well.

"There's Don George's secret card," Cilan pointed at the surface of the pool and saw whirlpools forming on it.

Iris, May, and Pikachu looked in the direction Cilan was pointing at and their eyes widened with shock, none of them had expected whirlpools in the pool. Ash and Oshawott reached the surface, coughing out water, but they had to quickly gain their composure because the whirlpools and current threatened to push them back in.

"Oshawott, looks like this time we're really going to have to give it our all," Ash told the otter and the starter nodded. The pair began swimming against the strong waters, but they felt the whirlpool sucking them in and it only made things much more difficult.

The pair groaned while trying to swim against the forces of the water, but they were running out of energy and the current and whirlpool only got stronger as Don George continued to tap a button.

"Things just escalated quickly, this isn't looking good," Cilan grinded his teeth while Iris stared with fear while May and Pikachu remained uncertain about how Ash and Oshawott could overcome this challenge.

"It's finished Ash," Don George told the boy and pressed a button that increased the whirlpool's power even more.

Ash swam with all his might just to avoid the whirlpool; however, Oshawott's small size didn't give the otter enough power to fight against the whirlpool. The water starter got sucked in, but all of a sudden, it shot Oshawott back out towards the waterfall. Ash and the others watched in surprise as Oshawott shot out like a bullet and towards the waterfall.

"This is called 'backup tactics', there's always one move that can counter the opponent's more powerful attack and Oshawott is going to show it!" Don George exclaimed with excitement.

As everyone watched, Oshawott glared at the waterfall and became surrounded by blue energy that quickly turned into water. It was similar to Flame Charge, but it was Aqua Jet instead. Oshawott manipulated its direction and diverted the waterfall by making a u-turn and rushing back in Ash's direction.

Don George pressed a button and a target came out of the water, "Oshawott, hit the target now!"

"Oshawott learned Aqua Jet!" Ash cried in surprise.

"No way, two new moves in a row," Iris was just as shocked.

"That's the result of hard training," Cilan gave Iris a sly smile and turned to Oshawott.

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu jumped in praise of Oshawott.

_They never fail to surprise me_, May thought in her mind, recalling all of the surprises Ash and his Pokémon had ever demonstrated during their time traveling together in the past.

Oshawott gazed down at Ash and smiled proudly, his trainer returning the smile. The Water-type then launched itself against the target and broke right through the plastic material, crashing into the water and causing large splash that stopped the whirlpools.

"Way to go Oshawott!" Ash jumped cheerfully.

Don George smiled in approval and stopped the machines that caused the powerful current and whirlpools. Oshawott leaped out of the water and into Ash's arms, embracing each other in joy.

May and the others ran over to them in joy, congratulating him for his success in the second trial. "Ash, that was amazing, not only did Oshawott learn Aqua Jet, but he is able to manipulate its direction, a remarkable feat," Don George complimented Oshawott's power, which the otter took into high regard.

"There's only one training session left," May placed her hands on her hips while speaking; Pikachu on her shoulder as well.

"You up for it?" Iris gave the boy a sly grin.

"This one will be for Pidove," Cilan pointed out the final Pokémon who needed training.

Ash nodded confidently and responded, "I am ready for anything."

"Good, now get your clothes and get dressed. The final room is just next door, once you get dressed, meet us there," Don George told the boy and Ash quickly got out of the pool.

The soaking wet boy thanked Oshawott for his efforts and returned the water Pokémon into its Pokéball, then rushed into the locker room to get dried and dressed. After a quick shower and getting his clothes on, Ash reached for Pidove's Pokéball and rushed to the next room, which was very different from the previous two.

Ash became impressed by what the room looked like when he entered, it was like a meadow, but inside a building. There were ten large poles with circular rings perched at the top and in the middle of the meadow were May, Pikachu, Iris, Cilan, and Don George.

"Time to train," Ash smiled and ran over to them. The group turned to Ash, grinning at him with encouraging smiles. Don George began to speak after the friends exchanged smiles, "Alright Ash, this last one is a bit different from the previous sessions. You see those rings up there," Don George pointed to them and then turned to Ash, who nodded at him. "Pidove has to fly through on those rings multiple times while fighting against some very powerful winds. You will have run all over the meadow, guiding Pidove through each ring, the winds will be more of a problem for Pidove than you though. Also, like the other two sessions, expect some surprises."

"Right!" Ash made a fist and smiled eagerly.

Don George nodded and walked over to a panel while Ash's friends walked over to sit on a bench. They all gave Ash a final smile, but May walked up to him and pecked him on his cheek. "Good luck Ashy," May whispered into his ear and smiled, the brunette then ran over to the bench with the others.

Ash began to blush a bit and felt his cheek, but then remembered that he had to train and quickly threw Pidove's Pokéball, "Pidove, you're up!" the auburn-eyed teen released his bird Pokémon.

Pidove emerged from the ball and hovered over Ash, eager to get her training started. "Alright Pidove, all you have to do is fly through the rings while pushing against the wind. I'll guide you the whole time while running across the field, you ready?" the boy grinned confidently at his pigeon Pokémon.

Pidove nodded happily while cooing and Ash smiled. "Go!" Don George declared at pressed a button that provoked strong winds across the meadow.

Ash easily ran around the meadow, not paying too much attention the wind, but saw Pidove struggling against it a bit. The Tiny Pigeon Pokémon put more effort into its flight and bashed against the wind like a bullet. It started to follow Ash around the meadow and dashed through some of the rings in a matter of seconds.

Don George took note of Pidove's speed and increased the wind speed to counter Pidove's own. Ash got caught by surprise and his hat almost flew off, but the boy placed his hand on it so it would maintain on his head while Pidove began to struggle against the wind even more.

The auburn-eyed teen saw Pidove failing to keep up with him and yelled, "Pidove, try to use Quick Attack as a boost for your speed and get through the ring!"

Pidove looked at his trainer, it realized that even he was having some trouble with the wind, but the bird nodded and increased its speed with Quick Attack, easily cutting through the strong breeze.

Ash smiled when Pidove passed through several of the rings yet again with Quick Attack as a boost, but he felt the winds getting stronger as his hat threatened to fly off any second and his hair moving wildly as he ran across the meadow. Even his clothes began flapping like a flag as Don George increased the wind with every minute.

Pidove groaned as it tried to cut through with Quick Attack, but not even that was enough to help the bird this time. The wind became so powerful that it almost sent Pidove flying against a wall, but the Flying-type quickly gained its composure and avoided the crash.

"Ash and Pidove are starting to slow down because of the wind," Iris stated with a worried tone.

"Don George is famous for making training sessions as intense as possible, it doesn't surprise that even Ash is struggling against his trials," Cilan told the purple-haired trainer.

"Pika pi," Pikachu watched with concern.

"They'll be able to do it, there's no doubt about it," May got up from the bench and assured herself that Ash would come out on top.

"Pidove, we have to keep going, we can't give up," Ash covered his eyes from the wind that formed tears in his eyes.

Pidove cooed and managed to get through another ring, but the wind continued to be a problem. The howling of the winds rang through Ash's ears as he turned to see Pidove hovering over him.

"Let's see if this will encourage them," Don George murmured and pressed another button. This time rods came out of the ceiling, making the entire group wonder what they were for.

"What are those?" Ash asked as he took a look at the rods that emerged from the ceiling.

"This will increase Pidove's speed by a whole lot; by the way, they're lightning rods!" Don George shouted and pulled a lever that caused one of the lightning rods to shoot out a Thunderbolt.

"Pidove, dodge it quick!" Ash commanded and the bird narrowly dodged the Thunderbolt.

Ash's friends quickly recognized how critical the training got when they saw Pidove nearly get struck down and watched with anxiety. Pidove and Ash tried to dodge all the Thunderbolts that came their way while trying to get through the rings, but the wind also made it difficult to move around.

"Just a few more times, hang in there!" Ash screamed out in an attempt to encourage Pidove to keep going, but the bird was becoming exhausted and the Thunderbolts only shot out faster while the winds continued to be a problem.

Pidove passed through another ring, but Ash didn't know how much more Pidove could take from dodging so much and countering the wind. "Let's keeping Pidove, we're almost there!" Ash continued to shout, but Pidove began panting due to exhaustion.

Suddenly, another Thunderbolt shot out much quicker than the others and struck down Pidove, shocking Ash and the others. "No, Pidove!" Ash cried out, trying to run over to the bird, but the wind pushed him back.

"Is it over?" Iris spoke softly, concerned for the bird.

"I don't know," Cilan pictured Pidove dropping down like a leaf.

Pikachu also became worried and tried to see if Pidove was moving until May screamed out, "It's not over, look!"

They looked at Pidove carefully and saw the bird glowing. Ash's eyes began to shine with amazement while Don George chuckled. Pidove's body continued to glow and began transforming, taking the shape of a larger bird.

Ash's mouth dropped and the boy mumbled, "Pidove's evolving…"

Pidove's body stopped glowing and revealed a larger bird with similar characteristics to Pidove. It had the same color as its pre-evolved form, but it was inverse and it had enlarged, hot pink markings above its eyes. It extended its wings out proudly and screeched.

"Tranquil, the Wild Pigeon Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pidove, Tranquil are always able to return to its trainer no matter how far the distance between them," May's Pokédex stated and the girl putted it away after that. The sapphire-eyed girl was interested in the bird's majestic appearance and admired it with Iris, Cilan, and Pikachu.

"Incredible!" Cilan shouted with astonishment.

"It evolved!" Iris exclaimed with bewilderment.

"Pika!" Pikachu was also taken back by the sudden evolution.

"Amazing…" May muttered. The only one who didn't scream about Pidove's evolved form.

"That's how we do it in the Battle Club," Don George chuckled, proud with the result.

"I have a Tranquil!" Ash announced joyfully while still fighting against the wind.

Tranquil smirked at Ash, not feeling any sort of struggling while standing. The wind proved nothing against the Wild Pigeon Pokémon. "Since Pidove evolved, its power is much higher now, that wind is nothing against it now," Cilan stated the obvious.

Ash continued to stare at Tranquil until Don George called him, "Ash, you only have to pass through a ring one last time, why don't we test Tranquil's new power by increasing the difficulty."

"You're on, Tranquil and I, are ready!" Ash made a fist, smiling confidently alongside Tranquil.

"Perfect, then let's finish it," Don George stated and pressed a few buttons. All of a sudden, most of the poles went underground, large compartments opened underneath the meadow and closed when all but one pole remained. It was at the other end of the meadow and loomed over the pair like a tower.

"Just get past through the last ring while avoiding the Thunderbolts and fighting against the wind, this is your last task and you're all set for Lenora," Don George told the boy.

"Alright, Tranquil let's go!" Ash declared and the bird took flight while Ash ran behind it.

"This is it, the last test," Cilan mumbled while the other friends watched with interest.

Ash struggled to fight against the wind like before, but Tranquil easily flew over him like if it were a normal day. Don George then unleashed the Thunderbolts, which Tranquil also dodged with ease while Ash tried to keep. Tranquil moved up, left, right, as the attacks tried to hit the bird, but it was like a jet avoiding missiles, Tranquil even twirled and spun like a jet.

Tranquil was just a few meters away, but Don George wasn't going to let Tranquil get past so easily. "Tranquil dodge this Thunder!" Don George slammed a button and one of the lightning rods shot out the powerful Electric-type attack.

"Tranquil dodge!" Ash ordered and Tranquil nimbly avoided the Thunder and dashed through the ring, causing May and the others to jump and cheer with joy.

"We did it!" Ash jumped and punched the air with joy while Tranquil landed in front of him with a cool attitude.

"Ash, you finished your training!" May cheered in joy and rushed up to him. They clutched each other's hands and smiled happily.

"Way to go Tranquil," Ash grinned at the bird, who returned the gesture.

"Who would have thought Pidove would evolve out of the blue," Cilan stated and congratulated Ash and Tranquil for their achievement.

"You made a lot of progress today Ash, Tepig learned Flame Charge, Oshawott learned Aqua Jet, and Pidove evolved," Iris recalled all of Ash's accomplishments.

"Pi pikachu pika!" Pikachu congratulated Ash and Tranquil as well, getting on Tranquil's back and smiling at the bird, who cooed at him kindly.

"You're ready to face Lenora, all your training has had remarkable results and I'm impressed Ash. You and your Pokémon have shown phenomenal skill today, unfortunately though, its night and it is too late to battle Lenora today," Don George praised Ash and his Pokémon, but told him that it was too late for a gym battle today.

Ash smiled at Don George while still holding May's hand, "That's ok, I can wait till tomorrow. First thing in the morning, I'm getting my badge from Lenora," the auburn-eyed boy grinned confidently while Don George and his friends all smiled at him, knowing he would do great.

* * *

**Later that night…**

Ash and May sat against a tree trunk by themselves, the rest of the gang sleeping inside the Pokémon Center. May's head lay on Ash's shoulder as they gazed at the night sky.

"You're not nervous about tomorrow at all, are you Ash?" May asked her boyfriend.

"Not at all," Ash smiled and ate a grape from the container of grapes he and May had taken out of Cilan's bag to eat.

"That's good, after all the progress you've made in a day with Don George there's no reason why you should be," May smiled at him, reminding him of how strong he had become in a single day.

"Well, it wasn't just the stuff Don George that made my Pokémon and me stronger; throughout the whole training I was thinking about what you told after I lost to Lenora. Those words May…encouraged me and my Pokémon more than anything; it's what kept us going on, what helped us overcome the odds. Thank you for that," the boy thanked her for everything she had done for him today.

"Awww, it's no problem Ash, I'm your girlfriend, I'm always there for you, remember that," May pecked his cheek in return, making the boy smile.

May took a grape too and giggled, "Anyway, you don't think Cilan will be mad when he finds out that we stole his grapes right?"

"Nah, a few nights ago I stole a muffin and he only sighed at me when he found out. I wanted to share it with you, but you had already fallen asleep," Ash recalled an incident from a few days ago.

The brunette giggled again, "We're so bad sometimes. We'd steal just to get something to eat wouldn't we?"

Ash laughed and responded, "Yeah, I guess we could join a criminal organization if we wanted to."

"Well, I heard Team Rocket is looking out to replace three flunkies that we know," the sapphire-eyed girl laughed, referring to Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"I don't think we've hit that low May," Ash laughed in response to her statement.

May grinned at him adorably, "I know, it's just pretty funny picturing us in Team Rocket uniforms."

"I actually had to do that once," Ash grinned sheepishly, recalling an event from years ago.

The brunette raised an eyebrow, but then spoke, "Oh yeah! I remember Brock and you telling Max and me that story when we traveled throughout Kanto that was pretty funny." The sapphire-eyed girl laughed.

Ash admired the sweet girl and stared at her from head to toe, she was angelic in his eyes, no one seemed better for him than her. He closed his eyes and started to picture her as an actual angel, then a mermaid, a princess, and even a mother, Ash was lost in his thoughts for several minutes until something hit him in the face.

The boy snapped out of his train of thought and rubbed his forehead, feeling the juice from the grape that had been thrown at him, "May, why did you hit me with a grape?"

May frowned and answered, "You dozed off and I thought you were going to fall asleep on me any minute."

The boy laughed nervously and apologized, "Oh, sorry about that I was just thinking."

"Apology accepted," May closed her eyes and smiled sweetly. Suddenly, a grape hit her forehead and she opened her eyes, glaring at Ash.

"I said I was sorry about the dozing off stuff, but the grape throwing is a whole different story," Ash smiled mischievously, clearly wanting to get even with May for the grape shot.

May grabbed some grapes and growled at Ash, "It's on Ash Ketchum; you're going to see why you shouldn't mess with the daughter of Petalburg City's Gym Leader."

"Bring it then," Ash dared her to hit him and he got a couple of grapes as well.

The two got up and smiled cunningly at each other. Sadly, May missed most her shots while Ash got his target most of the time. The auburn-eyed teen just laughed as May tried to hit him with the grapes, but the boy easily dodged them. She on the other hand had to wipe off the traces of grape from her clothes while trying to him.

May glared at him and then smiled deviously, "No one ever said about playing fair."

"Huh?" Ash raised an eyebrow and without warning, May tackled him down and onto the ground.

Ash was amazed by the strength May displayed and the next thing he saw was her on top of him, the brunette grinned at him deviously. "I gotcha," May continued to smirk at him.

The auburn-eyed teen didn't listen to her and just stared into her eyes. He felt his body heating up as she remained there. She too also began to focus on Ash's eyes and felt warm inside, there was this intense, hot feeling inside them, like lust and they continued to think about the sensation for the next few moments.

May stayed on top of him and he continued to gaze at her. All of a sudden, some wild Patrat emerged from the bushes that cut them out of their trance. The brunette quickly got off him and they stood up.

"We should go to sleep now," May gazed at him tenderly, but grinned awkwardly.

"That's a good idea," Ash agreed with her and smiled shamefacedly as well.

The couple grabbed each other's hands and walked to the Pokémon Center without another word. Tomorrow was a big day for Ash and he would need the rest.

**This chapter remained a bit truer to the series, but still had different elements. It was mostly battling and training, but I hope you enjoyed it, especially the last part with Ash and May. By the way, Oshawott isn't afraid to open his eyes when using Aqua Jet for those who are wondering, I just find the idea stupid if he is lol. For those of you who thought this chapter was long, believe me, it was going to be even longer, it was going to be much longer cause I wanted to include the final battle with Lenora, but then I got tired and thought it's better if I write about it in the next chapter. I'm really excited about the next chapter, because it will focus on something much more than Lenora and Ash's battle, plus we'll be seeing a character debut so stick around for that. One more thing, I am sorry for the absence, I'm just going through a pretty difficult crisis and I've been really stressed out about it, so stressed that I found it hard to think of a way to set this chapter up or even write it. However, I'll try to update more often and if you're lucky I'll update tomorrow, but I promise I''ll try to update more often, besides the next several chapters are pretty interesting. Well, that's it for now, remember to review, leave thoughts and opinions, etc. Hope you enjoyed it, see ya next time!**


	13. Survival of the Fittest

Chapter 13: Burn It Down

"I didn't expect you to be back so soon, I don't know if it's even possible for someone to make enough progress to beat me in one day," Lenora stood on her end of the battlefield, smiling cunningly.

Ash gave Lenora a confident smile and spoke, "You'll be surprised when you see how much I've really progressed in a day. I'm not going to hold anything back."

"That's the spirit; show me the strength you've displayed during your previous travels!" Lenora reached for a Pokeball and threw it into the air quickly.

"This is it, Ash has to win this time," Iris clasped her hands together with nervousness and Axew mimicked her by doing the same.

"Ash can't afford to lose, he's come too far," Cilan said with a serious tone, focusing his gaze on the battlefield.

"Ash is more serious this time; he's not going to let Lenora leave him in the dust this time. All the training with Don George is going to pay off here," May grinned with an assured smile and made a fist.

"Pi!" Pikachu mimicked May and got on her shoulder, ready to show support for his friend.

Cinccino appeared on the battlefield, standing proudly in front of Lenora and ready to take Ash down again. The auburn-eyed teen quickly threw Tepig's Pokéball and the fire pig appeared on the field, eager to put his new abilities to the test.

"You may begin!" Lenora's husband declared and the two battlers prepared to fight.

"Cinccino, show us your power with a Rock Blast!" Lenora commanded loudly.

Ash smiled and made a command, "Tepig, dodge the Rock Blast and use Ember!"

Tepig nodded and moved from side to side as Cinccino tried to take the pig down with large rocks that came from the energy it developed. Lenora smiled and began to speak, "Tepig's speed is much higher than yesterday. I guess I might have misjudged you Ash."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Ash answered with a calm tone and smirked.

Lenora chuckled and shouted, "Stop Tepig with your largest boulder!"

"Cinccino!" the Normal-type cried out and turned a massive amount of energy into a large boulder that shot at Tepig faster than a bullet.

_That rock is coming at Tepig too fast; he won't be able to dodge it. Guess we'll have to use Plan B_, Ash thought to himself and yelled out, "Tepig, fight back with Flame Charge!"

"Flame Charge?" Lenora raised an eyebrow in surprise, unable to remember Tepig using Flame Charge. "Tepig may have learned a new move Ash, but is Flame Charge really supposed to stop my Rock Blast, it's just a type disadvantage," Lenora pointed out the flaw in Ash's counter.

Ash made a fist and pumped it forward, "Tepig, let's prove Lenora wrong!"

"Tepig tepig teepig teeeeeepig teeeeeeeepig!" Tepig dashed toward the boulder and became enveloped in a bright fire, leaving a stream of flames behind it. The starter began sweating from the power it was exerting, nonetheless, the pig kept rushing toward it and lunged forward when it was just a few inches apart.

Much to Lenora and Cinccino's surprise, Tepig broke through the large rock, overcoming its weakness. "But how?" the gym leader was baffled by the comeback.

"Keep charging, this time at Cinccino!" Ash screamed, encouraging Tepig to continue the fight.

Tepig still ran with a fire enveloping it, but Lenora wasn't going to back down so easy, "Cinccino, stop Tepig with a Thunder Wave!" Cinccino shook its head and unleashed a blue lightning ray at Tepig.

Ash smirked and spoke, "Tepig, dodge it quick and charge at full power!" Tepig did just that, easily dodging the Thunder Wave due to its superior speed and sent Cinccino flying when it hit its opponent.

Cinccino crashed against the dirt, covered in flames because of Tepig's intense Flame Charge. The pig huffed at Cinccino, smirking at it and prepared for anything Lenora would do next.

Lenora's Pokémon got up while groaning in pain. Lenora turned to Ash and grinned, "Ash, Tepig sure has gotten stronger. It really has me wondering if we can win this time, but even though you've got the upper hand, we're not giving up without a fight. Cinccino, use Hidden Power!"

"This is only the beginning Lenora, prepare yourself for more surprises soon. Tepig, counter Hidden Power with Ember!" Ash instructed and Tepig released a wave of red ashes.

Cinccino gathered its small spheres and united them to create a larger one, which it shot at Tepig, but instead clashed with Ember. The two attacks were equally powerful and neither was able to overcome the other, causing a large explosion that covered the battlefield in dust.

Cinccino was not able to see in all the dust and Lenora was unable to pinpoint her Pokémon's location. Ash however, was familiar with this situation and knew exactly what to do. "Tepig, locate Cinccino like we practiced and use Tackle!" Ash cried out his instructions.

"Is his Tepig able to do that?" Lenora became puzzled by the command, but her eyes widened when she saw Cinccino fly out of the cloud of dust and crash against the ground.

Tepig emerged out of the cloud as well and smirked at Lenora, confident about its abilities. "Way to go Tepig," Ash smiled when he saw Cinccino trying to get up while Tepig huffed at it.

Lenora looked at Tepig, then at Cinccino, and then at Ash and spoke, "I didn't think I'd have to try this hard and even though I am, it's proving pretty useless. So Ash, I'm going to use my trump card and end this once and for all. Cinccino let them have it with Giga Impact!"

"No you don't, Tepig, let's use Flame Charge one more time!" Ash declared confidently and both Pokémon began charging at each other with their most powerful attacks.

They became enveloped by the power of their attacks and charged at each other with full force. Lenora frowned and shouted, "Fool, Flame Charge isn't strong enough to overpower Giga Impact!"

"Who said Tepig was going to clash head-on?" Ash smirked at Lenora, confusing the woman. When the Pokémon were just a few feet away from each other, Ash cried out again, "Tepig, jump over Cinccino and finish this with a full-power Ember!"

"What!" Lenora shouted in shock. Tepig jumped over Cinccino, causing the Scarf Pokémon to miss. The counter resulted in Tepig using a powerful Ember that scorched Cinccino to the very core, making the Normal-type cry in pain.

Tepig dropped to the ground and puffed smoke out of its nostrils. Cinccino dropped to the ground, covered in ashes and wounds from Ember. "Cinccino is unable to battle; the first battle goes to Ash!" Hawes announced.

"Way to go Ash!" Iris cheered happily and clapped with Cilan and Axew over the victory.

May and Pikachu smiled at Ash and Tepig from the bench, happy with Ash's victorious first battle. "Piece of cake," May stated, continuing to smile with Pikachu.

Lenora returned Cinccino and smirked at Ash, "That was truly amazing Ash, the speed of your Tepig and your quick thinking has surely made you a stronger opponent. I don't know what training you went through to come so far in one day, your style has improved significantly and that's the style I hope to see through the rest of this battle."

"You can count on it," Ash pulled the brim of his hat down a bit. The raven-haired teen then turned to Tepig, "Tepig, you were awesome out there. I'm so proud of you; you didn't even get hit once by Cinccino. You deserve the rest pal."

"Tepig!" the pig cheered joyfully and smiled at Ash, the boy then returned his Pokémon into its Pokéball.

"So we'll both be using different Pokémon now, interesting," Lenora spoke and reached for a Pokéball. She chuckled and released her next Pokémon, "Go, Watchog!"

Ash smirked at her and reached for another Pokéball, "You're up Oshawott!"

Oshawott and Watchog got on the battlefield, both smirking at each other. "Osha osh oshawott!" the otter crossed his arms and grinned arrogantly.

"Watch watchog watch!" the Lookout Pokémon chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Watchog, use Thunderbolt!" Lenora wasted no time in making her command.

Ash extended his arm out to the left and yelled, "Oshawott, counter with a Razor Shell!"

_Again with the type disadvantage counters, will it work this time though_? Lenora asked herself.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott cried out and turned his scalchop into a blade. Then the otter began rushing at Watchog and Thunderbolt.

The otter struggled against his weakness at first, but the Water-type increased the power of the attack so the blade would be able to endure the damage. Oshawott kept advancing while Watchog tried to keep it at bay with Thunderbolt, but to no avail.

"Impossible," Lenora gazed with astonishment, admiring Oshawott's ability to endure the power of Thunderbolt.

When Oshawott got a few feet away from Watchog, Ash made his next command, "Now jump up, do a somersault and bash Watchog with Razor Shell!"

Lenora and Watchog got caught by surprise when they heard Ash's counter, the next thing they saw was Oshawott jumping upward, avoiding the Thunderbolt and then doing a somersault, pushing the otter towards Watchog. When the starter got close, it used its Razor Shell to send Watchog flying against a wall.

Watchog got up, ignoring the pain that had just been inflicted upon it and glared at Oshawott. Ash smirked at Lenora, "Not bad huh Lenora?"

"Not bad indeed, but can you still win? Watchog, Shadow Ball now!" Lenora exclaimed aggressively.

"Oshawott, fight back with Water Gun!" Ash countered.

"Oshaaawoott!" the otter cried out and released of stream of water that kept Shadow Ball at bay. The starter began pushing it back against Watchog, but Lenora knew what to do.

Lenora smirked and ordered Watchog to use, "Detect and follow it up with Low Kick!"

Before Watchog could get hit by the double attack, the Lookout Pokémon nimbly dodged it and rushed up to Oshawott with amazing speed, catching it and Ash off guard. Watchog glared at Oshawott and used Low Kick to send Oshawott flying into the air.

"Now, use Thunderbolt!" Lenora cried out and Watchog released the powerful Electric-type attack.

"Oshawott, get it together and use your scalchop to deflect it!" Ash commanded quickly.

Oshawott got its composure in midair and managed to block Thunderbolt just in time, sending the attack against the ground, which caused a weak explosion.

"Oshawott and Watchog are equal in terms of speed and attack," Cilan rubbed his chin, taking note of the standstill.

"This battle is going to be tough," Iris watched the two battled while sitting on the edge of her seat.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu shouted, encouraging Oshawott to fight back to the best of its ability.

"Ash still hasn't used Aqua Jet, it's the only move capable of defeating Watchog and I know he's going to use it soon," May kept her gaze on Oshawott, confident about Ash's future victory.

Oshawott landed on the field safely and frowned at Watchog. Ash smiled and prepared for his next move, "Oshawott, time for improvisation, let's use Razor Launch!"

"What on earth is Razor Launch?" Lenora became confused by the command.

"You'll see," Ash smirked and Oshawott formed a blade with its scalchop. The otter held it like a spear and threw it at Watchog with a deadly speed.

_Child's play_, Lenora chuckled and ordered, "Detect!" Watchog easily jumped over Oshawott's improvised attack.

"Perfect, shoot him down Oshawott!" Ash extended his arm upward. Oshawott nodded and released a stream of pressurized water at Watchog, who was still in midair.

Lenora and Watchog got caught off guard once again, causing the Lookout Pokémon to crash against the ceiling and forming a small crack. Oshawott pounded his chest as a sign of pride while Watchog dropped to the ground like a rock.

Unfortunately, the Lookout Pokémon still had enough energy to continue. "Watchog isn't ready to give up yet," Lenora crossed her arms and gave Ash a sly smirk.

"I was counting on that," Ash smirked and declared another assault, "Oshawott, use Aqua Jet to finish this!"

"Oshaaaawott!" the otter began running and a blue energy surrounded his body, eventually turning into water. The otter got into midair and started jetting across the battlefield, leaving a stream of water.

"Stop Oshawott with a Confuse Ray, Watchog!" Lenora extended her arm forward.

"Watchog!" the Normal-type called out its name and released the move. Ash made no command and Oshawott merely dodged the move thanks to the quick speed obtained from Aqua Jet.

"Darn, it's too fast!" Lenora grinded her teeth and made another command, "Let's end this with Thunderbolt!"

Ash smiled and spoke, "Oshawott grab your scalchop and use that as a shield while charging at Watchog!"

Oshawott shook its head and rushed towards its shell that lied on the floor while dodging Watchog's wave of Thunderbolts. Oshawott grabbed its shell and began charging at Watchog, deflecting the Thunderbolt.

The starter then rushed at full-power towards the Normal-type and sent it flying against the wall. Oshawott dropped to the ground and placed his shell on his belly. Watchog lay against the wall with swirl eyes, no longer able to battle.

"Watchog is unable to battle; the victor of the second battle is Ash!" Hawes announced.

Iris, Pikachu, and Cilan jumped in joy when Ash came out as the winner of the second battle. May on the other hand, just smiled, _Lenora is down to 1 Pokémon while Ash still has 3. This is going to be a breeze. _

"Impressive Ash, I didn't expect Aqua Jet at all. Oshawott surprised me even more by being able to manipulate it and then using a combination of its scalchop and Aqua Jet to deliver the finishing blow," the Gym Leader praised Ash's tactics.

"Thanks Lenora, there's more where that came from," Ash thanked her for the compliment and turned his attention to Oshawott. "Oshawott, you did it, I knew you could do it. After battling so hard, you've earned yourself a nice, long rest," the auburn-eyed teen smiled at him.

"Osha oshawott!" Oshawott smiled happily and Ash returned the otter.

Lenora chuckled and reached for her last Pokéball, "This one is for all the marbles Ash, get ready for Stoutland!" the woman called out and summoned her most powerful Pokémon.

"Bring it!" Ash reached for Tranquil's Pokeball and threw it, summoning his Flying-type onto the battlefield.

Tranquil stood majestically on the field and glared at Stoutland, remembering its defeat from yesterday. Lenora smiled, "Intriguing, your Pidove evolved, I can't wait to put its abilities to the test."

"You won't be disappointed by Tranquil. Let's get started, Tranquil use Gust!" Ash ordered and Tranquil flapped its wings and created a tornado.

The twister launched itself at Stoutland, but Lenora and her Pokémon remained cool. "Stoutland, use Wild Charge to dash through Gust!" Lenora commanded. Stoutland howled and rushed through the attack while being enveloped by an aura of electricity.

"Whoa, that's strong," Ash hadn't expected Stoutland to break through so easily. The Big-Hearted Pokémon continued to dash, aiming for Tranquil this time, but Ash remained calm. "Tranquil, dodge Wild Charge and use Quick Attack!"

Lenora was unable to counter in time and Tranquil nimbly moved from the harm's way. The bird then hit Stoutland with Quick Attack, making the dog slide across the battlefield.

"Now close in for another Quick Attack!" Ash demanded loudly.

Lenora chuckled and countered, "Stoutland, fight back with Surf!"

As Tranquil rushed toward Stoutland with impeccable speed, Stoutland roared and a large wave of water emerged from the ground, protecting the dog and heading straight toward Tranquil.

Ash's eyes widened when he saw how large it was, the wave almost reached the ceiling and it was wide enough to cover the battlefield. The auburn-eyed teen knew he had to come up with a different tactic, _that wave is too strong to rush through and it's impossible to dodge, there's only one way to hit Stoutland_. "Tranquil try to make an opening in the wave with Air Cutter quick!" Ash instructed with haste.

Tranquil began to flap its wings rapidly and released blue, sickle-shaped energy attacks to combat the wave. Like Ash had predicted, a hole emerged through the wave and Tranquil went right through, but suddenly, something bashed at Tranquil back to the side of the wave and got crushed by the water.

"No!" Ash cried out in fear.

When the wave finally dispersed, Stoutland growled at Tranquil, who tried to get up after the hard hit. Lenora chuckled and spoke, "I can't believe you fell for that trick again, Stoutland used Wild Charge to send Tranquil flying, but what it better this time was the wave being able to crush your Pokémon during the process."

Ash grinded his teeth in frustration while Tranquil groaned in pain as it stood. "This isn't good, Tranquil's taken two heavy hits in a row, one more might finish it," Cilan became anxious when he saw Tranquil struggling to get up.

"But Ash still has two more Pokémon," Iris tried to prove to Cilan that victory was still in Ash's hand.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu agreed with Iris, further proving her point.

"Yes, but Tepig and Oshawott are pretty exhausted from their battles, if they fight against Stoutland it'll be futile because they won't have enough power to fight back. Stoutland is stronger than Watchog and Cinccino combined, the only Pokémon on par with that power is Tranquil," Cilan pointed out something that put Ash's victory on the line.

Iris, Pikachu, and even May's eyes widened when they heard what the green-haired teen said. They all grinded their teeth in frustration, realizing the desperation of the situation, May clenched her fists and grinded her teeth, _C'mon Ash, you have to win this, you can't afford to lose again, Pikachu, Iris, Cilan, and I all believe in you, after all the training and encouragement you can't afford to lose. _

"Stoutland, use Swagger!" Lenora extended her arm forward.

"No!" Ash cried out, knowing there was no way Tranquil could avoid Swagger.

When Tranquil got on its feet, Stoutland sighed and smirked at Tranquil, infuriating the bird. The result became the same as last time; Tranquil began to fly around the battlefield aimlessly and tried to use Air Cutter on Stoutland.

Stoutland easily dodged Tranquil's attacks and moved around the battlefield. "Tranquil stop this now!" Ash cried out, causing the bird to get its composure back for a second. The Wild Pigeon stared at Ash, but then felt its anger coming back and continued its activity.

Ash began to sweat a little from the frustration and grinded his teeth, no matter how many times he tried to snap Tranquil out of it, the bird just kept attacking Stoutland, but with no progress.

Lenora crossed her arms and spoke, "Tranquil's been fun Ash, but the game is up. Stoutland, finish this with a Hyper Beam!"

Stoutland opened its jaw and released the powerful beam of energy at Tranquil, but Ash wasn't giving up yet, "Tranquil dodge now!"

Ash's words echoed through Tranquil's ears and the bird snapped out of its anger just in time. The Wild Pigeon Pokémon easily dodged Hyper Beam by flying up higher while spinning like a jet.

"Impossible!" Lenora cried out with surprise.

"Now, end this with a full-power Air Cutter!" Ash commanded, but the bird ignored his commands.

Ash and the others became confused as to why Tranquil didn't listen, the bird no longer even showed signs of confusion. When Tranquil reached the ceiling and began to jet down towards Stoutland with phenomenal speed, its body became encircled by a clear aura with white streaks.

"That's amazing, Tranquil's using Sky Attack!" Lenora shouted out.

"Sky Attack!" Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan screamed with surprise while Pikachu cried out its name in shock as well.

Lenora frowned and formed a sly smirk, "There's only one way to counter such a powerful attack, Stoutland use an all-out Hyper Beam!"

"Tranquil you give it your all too!" Ash screamed at the top of his lungs.

Tranquil began diving down faster while Stoutland released its high-powered attack. When the two attacks clash, the atmosphere intensified, Ash and his friends began grinding their teeth while Lenora remained calm, but had a frown on her face.

The aura around Tranquil suddenly became thicker and began to break through the Hyper Beam. Ash and his friends started to form smiles while Stoutland struggled to keep Tranquil at bay with Hyper Beam. The raven-haired teen then made his last command, "Now Tranquil!"

Tranquil heard Ash's voice and recalled all the effort it went through during Don George's trial, the struggle, the effort it had to put into, the bird couldn't afford to lose. With all of its might, Tranquil cried out and charged at full power, breaking through Hyper Beam and send Stoutland flying against the dirt.

A large explosion produced from the collision and everyone watched in amazement as the room lightened up because of the impact. When the dust cleared and light faded, everyone spotted Stoutland lying on the ground unconscious while Tranquil stood on top of the dog proudly, spreading out tis wings and cooing.

"Stoutland is unable to battle; the victory of today's gym battle goes to Ash from Pallet Town!" Hawes announced the clear winner of the fight.

"Tranquil, we did it, we won!" Ash rushed over to his bird and hugged it happily while it rubbed itself against Ash as a sign of affection.

Lenora smiled sheepishly and returned Stoutland. She then walked over to Ash and Tranquil, her face displaying a satisfied grin, "Ash this belongs to you." The Gym Leader opened her hand and revealed the Basic Badge.

Ash gladly received the badge and cheered with Tranquil, "We got the Basic Badge!" the boy declared and posed with the badge in his fingers.

"Ash!" His friends called out to him and hugged him, forming a group hug in the process.

"Amazing Ash, you managed to turn a sour defeat into a sweet victory," Cilan congratulated Ash for his win.

"We all knew you could do it, looks like you're not such a kid after all!" Iris cheered for her friend with a joyous tone, despite teasing him a little.

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu rubbed his cheek against Ash as a sign of congratulations.

"Ash, I knew this moment was coming since yesterday, after all the sweat and panting, the training paid off and you won, I am so proud of you," May caught Ash's auburn eyes with her sapphire eyes and smiled at him, then the brunette nuzzled her face in his chest as a sign of affection.

Suddenly, man came rushing into the room frantically, "Lenora, Lenora, something's wrong!"

Lenora stopped admiring the friendship between the youths and turned to the man. The group of friends also separated and wondered why the man was acting so frantic. "Yes, what is it?" the Gym Leader asked.

"The museum…it has….intruders…you…have to…go…quick," the man panted while trying to state the situation, but then fainted, surprising everyone.

"Hawes, go through the emergency exit and take this man with you to a medical center quick, something is clearly wrong," Lenora spoke with a commanding voice.

Hawes picked the man up and placed the man's arm around his neck, "Of course dear." Hawes wasted no time in taking the man with him and finding the emergency exit.

Lenora turned to the children and spoke, "You kids stay here, something bad seems to be going on up there and it doesn't sound pretty."

"No Lenora, you don't know how bad it might be up there!" Ash talked back to the woman.

"You might need us there, who knows what's going on!" May teamed up with Ash and gave Lenora a reason as to why they should go.

"I agree, if we all go together it might prove safer, we still don't know what's going on," Cilan informed Lenora about the situation at hand.

"We have to go with you, please!" Iris begged the woman to let them come along with Ash and May.

_Connoisseur boy is right, I might need help, this might just be the situation I had been warned about and I need a couple of strong trainers to help me out, _Lenora thought inside her mind and looked at the four teens and sighed. "Alright, you can come along, but be careful."

They all nodded simultaneously and Ash returned Tranquil. They all rushed upstairs to the museum to see what on earth could have alarmed the man so bad. When they arrived, they found it empty and Lenora began inspecting every single detail of the museum.

The displays still had the fossils and the Dragonite skeleton had all its bones, but then something alerted her. Her eyes widened and Ash quickly took note of this, "Lenora what's wrong?"

"The Black Stone is missing," Lenora gazed at an empty display with broken glass surrounding its podium.

"What's the Black Stone?" The four teenagers asked the woman.

Lenora let out a deep breath and spoke, "The Black Stone is an artifact found many years ago in the desert, it is said to carry a large amount of Unova's history because it is as old as Unova itself. It contains a lot of information regarding the geographical formation of this region and it's even rumored to have a connection to one of Unova's legends."

"That is correct ma'am, you obviously know very much about everything inside this museum," a voice spoke from nowhere, alarming Lenora and the gang.

They all turned to a dark corner where a man came out of the shadows; he wore a thick purple coat and long, purple hat. He had the Team Plasma insignia on the front of his coat and he wore black gloves and boots. The man extended his arm out and showed the Black Stone in the palm of his hand.

Ash and the others all frowned at the man, instantly knowing he was a bad guy. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Zinzolin, a member of Team Neo Plasma and I am responsible for the theft of the Black Stone," the sinister man laughed and glared at his enemies.

All of a sudden, a few members of Team Neo Plasma came out of the shadows as well, standing beside Zinzolin. They all wore the same black, militaristic uniform as the members they encountered in Striaton City.

Lenora got in front of the teens and raised her voice, "I am aware of who you are, you're wanted to throughout the Unova region for committing multiple crimes. The police force and Pokémon League issued a warning against you crooks, if you ever showed your face you'd be arrested immediately." She then reached for a Pokéball and prepared to battle until another voice was heard by the stairs of the museum.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a man in black came out of the shadows. His voice was that of an old man and he had a hunchback. When the man pulled his hood down, he revealed himself, alarming the group, especially Ash and May.

"Charon!" Ash cried out, recognizing the former Team Galactic member.

A Klinklang appeared behind him and the man chuckled with an old voice. "Hello young ones, glad we had the chance to meet today."

Lenora shifted her gaze to the man and asked, "Who are you?"

Charon glared at the woman and spoke, "Lenora, I was talking to the children, it's very impolite to interrupt when someone else is speaking. As for whom I am, that shall remain an enigma until the time is right."

"He was a member of Team Galactic," Ash continued to glare at his enemy with May and Pikachu while the others wondered he was.

"But when Team Galactic separated, he joined the Majestic 12, a mysterious organization we don't know much about, except that it's composed of 12 powerful members and they dress in black coats," May cut Ash and informed Lenora about who Charon is and who he's involved with.

Charon groaned and glared at May, "Insolent brat, you don't go around informing others of who we are. That action only results in punishment."

"You know what, I don't care who you are or why you're working with Team Neo Plasma, all that needs to be done is retrieve the Black Stone and have you guys arrested!" Lenora spat at the elder.

"I'm afraid we cannot do that," Zinzolin spoke, Lenora turning to face the member of Team Neo Plasma.

"Indeed we can't, you see, my associates and I need the Black Stone for several operations that we are to carry out very soon. In other words, the Black Stone belongs to us," Charon smirked at Lenora deviously.

Ash frowned at Charon and spoke, "You geezer, didn't you learn to stop doing criminal activities after Cyrus and Team Galactic got defeated?!"

Charon's eyes burned with anger and he shouted, "Lousy child, I'll teach you to respect your elders and to stick your nose somewhere it doesn't belong!"

May rolled her eyes and began to speak, "Whatever, we're going to get the Black Stone back no matter what."

Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Lenora, and Ash nodded. The trainers all reached for Pokéballs and prepared to battle.

"Fools, my Klinklang has you all on Lock-On, you make one slight move and you're blown to bits by Zap Cannon," Charon threatened to destroy the whole place if the group tried to pull something.

Ash and his friends groaned over the situation, understanding if any of them tried to do something, Charon would blast them to oblivion. They were unable to even come up with a plan, any slight movement spelled doom for them.

Then, without warning the front door of the fossil room opened and 6 Team Plasma members entered. Lenora and the others became even more alert by their arrival.

"Team Neo Plasma, hand over the Black Stone now, King N commands you do so," the leader of squad demanded. Like usual, N's goons were also dressed in a uniform, they dressed like knights in contrast to military operatives like Team Neo Plasma.

"Look who arrived…I'm sorry Team Plasma, but N doesn't even have the slightest clue on how to use the Black Stone," Zinzolin showed the Black Stone while speaking.

"Why would we give something so valuable to a mere pathetic youth like N, his father joined Team Neo Plasma for a reason, to combat against stupid mentalities like that of your leader," Charon spoke viciously about the youthful leader of Team Plasma.

The male leader of the Team Plasma Squad frowned and spoke, "If you are unwilling to cooperate, then you give us no choice, but to fight for it." The knights then reached for their Pokéballs and prepared to battle, but Charon began laughing.

Charon looked at Ash and his friends, then at Team Plasma and gave a nasty gaze. Two more Klinklang came out of the darkness and Charon spoke, "Team Plasma operates like the children you see before, foolish and easy to trap. My Klinklang here, have just put you on Lock-On, they will blast Hyper Beam at you if you move even inch, so in other words, you move, you die."

"No, you're bluffing," the leader of the Team Plasma members took a step, but got struck by a Thunderbolt used by one of the Klinklang. The man squealed in pain as his whole body dropped.

The moaned on the floor, unable to move while Team Neo Plasma and Charon laughed at his misery. Team Plasma and the gang only watched in horror as the member laid there like a dead man.

Ash groaned and glared at Charon, Zinzolin, and then at the Neo Plasma members, _I wish we could do something, but what is there that we do? _

_ They may be criminals too, but I felt horrible just watching him lie there, this has to stop, we have to do something, but what?_ May thought in her head, like Ash and the others; she was desperate for a way to escape.

Lenora grabbed a Pokéball and threatened to attack, ready to risk her life to stop these criminals. Suddenly, all the lights turned off without warning, alarming everyone in the room.

"What happened?" Iris spoke to her friends as quietly as possible.

"Apparently, the lights turned off for no reason," Cilan whispered to the girl.

"Charon, is it him?" Zinzolin's voice could be heard.

Charon laughed and answered, "Yes, it's him, the lone wolf. Kids, Lenora, don't bother moving, Klinklang can sense your movements. Remember, you move, you die."

Ash and the others grinded their teeth, wondering how they could escape now if they can't even see. Charon tried to see through the dark, but the old man was unable to.

All of a sudden, punches could be heard and the sounds of bodies dropping. Zinzolin's voice became frightened and he spoke, "Charon, they're knocking out the operatives one by one."

Many Team Plasma and Neo Plasma members detected a dark shadow moving, but before they could react, they were instantly knocked out by something. Charon could hear sounds of something moving and heard their goons cry in horror when the enemy neared, the sound of a body dropping would then follow.

Charon became serious and made commands, "Zinzolin, it's time for you to go, I'll handle this part of the mission, this is what I was assigned for."

"Right," Zinzolin spoke with a scared tone.

The group could hear Zinzolin footsteps as the man ran through the museum trying to find the exit until a figure dropped in front of the man. His face hidden in darkness, Zinzolin's eyes widened with fear when he saw the man and cried out "Help!"

The man snatched the Black Stone from his hand blasted Zinzolin away with a blue sphere. Alarming everyone when they heard Zinzolin crashing against a wall, then all the lights suddenly turned on again. Charon, Ash, and his friends all became shocked when they saw who stood in front of them with the Black Stone in his hand.

His face was hidden under a black hood, he had a muscular figure and stood in front of them with an intimidating posture, he was even taller than Lenora, but something about him was all too familiar. They saw all members of Team Plasma and Neo Plasma knocked out, lying unconscious on the floor. When they turned back to the man they saw a Zoroark standing next to him.

"Zoroark…"Ash recognized the Pokémon from his adventure in Sinnoh.

Charon began walking down the stairs and took a look at all of the unconscious bodies and then smirked at the intruder. "Roxas, you made it. We were starting to worry where you were, you always them to follow trouble like a dog chasing a car," the old man mocked the man named Roxas.

"I follow you because wherever you go, madness is sure to follow," the man spoke with an oddly familiar voice.

Charon chuckled and spoke, "Hand over the Black Stone."

"Stop targeting Lenora and the children or I will take you down," Roxas threatened the old man.

"If you attack me, the Klinklang will shoot," Charon chuckled louder than before.

Roxas chuckled and responded, "You don't seem to know me at all." Charon became confused by the remark and suddenly a Lucario came out of the darkness, landing in front of the three Klinklang. The Aura Pokémon easily disposed two of them with a double Aura Sphere and sent the other flying with Close Combat. The three Pokémon crashed against different walls of the room, unconscious.

"You never were one of the stronger members of the Majestic 12," Roxas taunted the old man.

When May saw the Lucario, her mind awakened and realized who this mysterious person was. The voice, Lucario, it all connected, she remembered the events from Pallet Town and knew this man was the same one saved them what felt like a lifetime ago.

"Ash, this is him, this is the man who saved us in Pallet Town, he's the one who fought Omega and used his Metagross to transport us to the port. It's him!" May told the boy with an overexcited voice.

"Are you sure," Ash became confused and so did the others. The auburn-eyed teen took a look at the man and then his Pokémon, there seemed something familiar about him. The boy took a glimpse of Roxas and turned to May, "If it's him, then we have to help him."

"Right!" May agreed with Ash's plan, the pair told the others of the man and stated their plan, which they agreed too as well.

Charon glared at the motionless Roxas until Ash called him out. "Hey Charon, you're Klinklang are down for the count. It's time for you to give up."

"You're going to pay for what you did here," May added to what Ash said.

"We're going to turn you along with these other crooks," Lenora spoke sternly.

Charon groaned, but then saw the Neo Plasma members getting up. The gray-haired man chuckled and turned to the group, "If you want to do that. Then first take care of the enemies around you."

Zinzolin and the other Team Neo Plasma members got up, realizing the situation, they quickly prepared for battle.

Roxas observed his surrounding his opponents, "I see, you've taught them how to recover from a knock out. Team Plasma is still out cold though, no matter, you're the target here."

"Right," Charon laughed and began fleeing.

Before Roxas gave chase with Zoroark and Lucario, he turned his gaze to the group, specifically Ash and May. "You take care of the grunts; I'll take care of the old man."

They all nodded at him and Roxas gave chase with Zoroark and Lucario moving quickly behind him.

"There's six of them, so Ash, May, you take care of two. Connoisseur boy and Iris, you take care of two and I'll take on the other two, now let's go!" Lenora instructed and they prepared to battle.

Ash and May were up against a male Neo Plasma member and Zinzolin. "Alright Pikachu, you're up," Ash turned to his pal, who was on his shoulder and the mouse nodded, dropping to the floor.

"Blaziken, it's show time!" May summoned her most powerful Pokémon to take care of the two enemies.

The Neo Plasma member called out a Purrloin while Zinzolin summoned a Garbodor. "Purrloin, use Scratch on Pikachu!" the grunt ordered.

"You kids will pay dearly for interfering with our plans, Garbodor use Sludge Bomb on Blaziken!" Zinzolin cried out with anger.

"Pikachu, dodge and use Iron Tail!" Ash countered. The Purrloin was fast, but fast enough, Pikachu easily dodged the attack and slammed its iron tail against Purrloin, sending the cat flying against the wall.

Garbodor released brown ball of sludge at Blaziken, but May knew how to counter it. "Blaziken, burn it away with Flamethrower!" the sapphire-eyed girl commanded. Blaziken vaporized the sludge and hit Garbodor, inflicting critical damage in the process.

"You guys aren't very tough," Ash taunted his opponents.

"I beat losers like you every morning," May further taunted them as well.

Zinzolin and his underling groaned. "We'll teach you not to mess with us, Garbodor, use Body Slam on Pikachu," Zinzolin ordered aggressively.

"Purrloin, use Slash on Blaziken!" the grunt demanded.

"Pikachu, use Double-Edge to hit that load of garbage away!" Ash extended his arm to the right.

"Pikaaa!" the mouse jumped into the air before Garbodor could drop on him and sent Garbodor flying with a full power Double Edge, like a bat hitting a baseball.

"Blaziken, dodge with a Spin Blaze Kick!" May instructed, confusing the grunt because of the odd command. Blaziken's much faster speed allowed it to spin out of harm's way and sent Purrloin flying against the floor with a powerful Blaze Kick.

"May, let's finish this with the combination we've been working on," Ash spoke to his girlfriend and partner.

"Sounds good to me!" May nodded and gladly accepted.

"Ok," the couple said simultaneously.

"Pikachu," Ash called the name of his friend.

"Blaziken," May called the name of her partner.

"Use Fire Volt Tackle!" the pair commanded at the same time.

The two Pokémon took advantage of Garbodor and Purrloin struggling to get up, so Blaziken released a spiral stream of fire while crying out "Blaziken!"

Pikachu went through the fire spin and began charging. "Pika pika pika pikaaachu!" the mouse ran through the spiral and became enveloped in electricity.

The combination attack hit Purrloin and Garbodor head-on, causing a large explosion within the museum. The fire of Fire Spin and the shock of Volt Tackle left Zinzolin and his underling's Pokémon unconscious.

"Unbelievable," Zinzolin showed fear when he saw how explosive the power of Ash and May proved to be.

Zinzolin looked behind his opponents and saw that they had already been defeated by a Pansage, Axew, Watchog, and Cinccino. The man glared at Ash and May, "We've been defeated, Team Neo Plasma, retreat now!"

"You're not getting away!" Ash leaped to grab Zinzolin, but the man released a canister of smoke that left them unable to see.

They began coughing and searched everywhere for the crooks, but once the smoke cleared, they had all escaped, even the Team Plasma Grunts. "They got away again!" Iris stomped her foot in anger.

"And looks like they even took the member of Team Plasma, I wonder why," Cilan took note of the other villainous team's members' absence.

"Too late to figure out now," Lenora gave them a stern look, wishing she had been able to stop them.

"There's only one lead left," May pointed out the remaining bad guy in the museum.

"Yeah, he's with Roxas, which means we have to go help him. That guy may be strong, but is he as strong as Charon?" Ash wondered and they all agreed to go in search of the mysterious figure and Charon.

"Besides, we have to thank him for all the help he's given us and I want some answers as to who he is, he may know something about all these bad guys that we don't," May showed curiosity regarding the man known as Roxas.

* * *

**Beneath the museum, in the gym…**

"Don't you see Roxas; there are great plans for this world. Omega plans on reshaping it, making it better, one where we can finally find sanctuary," Charon spoke to the man who stood before him with Zoroark and Lucario.

"So he's going to hurt and kill anyone who gets in his way," Roxas answered sternly.

Charon laughed and spoke, "There are certain barricades that will not allow us to achieve their goal unless they are removed, meaning your friends, especially that troublesome couple, they have to be exterminated one way or another."

Roxas clenched his fists and replied violently, "Sorry, I won't let that happen. I'm here to stop your plans and from hurting anyone, including them."

"Foolish boy, putting emotions before glory, you really are as hard as a rock. You rather keep some insignificant children alive rather than see an evolved humanity, one where evil and corruption are condemned, humans have become a virus in this world and Omega sees it necessary to cause a reboot, under the rule of the Majestic 12, this planet will not see the kind of history its seen since the start of the millennium," Charon lectured Roxas about the future.

"Your future is one where humans and Pokémon suffer even more, I'm not going to allow that, and if you're going to disrupt the balance of things, then that's an even greater reason as to why I should stop," Roxas extended his arm forward and formed an Aura Sphere on the palm of his hand.

"You know it is not in your nature to take a life," Charon smirked at his opponent.

"But it is in mine," Charon laughed and multiple Klinklang burst out the walls.

"We may have failed to obtain the Black Stone, but there's always next time. Klinklang, Hyper Beam!" Charon commanded harshly and the dozen Klinklang unleashed the powerful attack.

"Protect!" Roxas ordered and Zoroark and Lucario formed a barrier that protected them from the barrage of Hyper Beam.

When they stopped, the barrier disappeared and trio quickly split up. Roxas leaped in front of four Klinklang and used a double Aura Sphere to blast two away and then made two more Aura Spheres to blast the other two away, easily defeating them.

Lucario did the same as Roxas and blasted all four Klinklang with a double Aura Sphere. Zoroark however, is unable to learn Aura Sphere, but used a double Focus Blast to blast the remaining four Klinklang away.

The trio dropped on the ground and saw Charon aboard a helicopter. The mad scientist returned all the Klinklang and laugh manically as the helicopter flew away.

"He got away while we were taking care of his Klinklang!" Roxas slammed the ground with his fist.

"It was either capture Charon or keep our lives, there's nothing you could have done," Lucario spoke telepathically, Zoroark nodding in agreement.

Roxas got up and looked at his loyal partners, "Looks like we're going to have to keep tracking them down until they're finished."

Lucario and Zoroark nodded. "For now, you guys rest," Roxas told the pair and returned them to their Pokéballs.

The man heard footsteps and turned around, detecting Ash and his friends with his sapphire eyes.

"Looks like Charon escaped as well," Lenora pointed out since Roxas was the only person in the gym.

May looked at the man who just stared at them and ran over to him. "May, wait!" Ash ran behind her.

"What are they doing, that guy might be dangerous," Iris became surprised by her friends' actions.

Lenora spoke to the purple-haired girl, "Let them go, they seem to trust this man for a reason." Iris looked at Lenora and then at Pikachu, Cilan, and Axew who all nodded at her and she sighed.

"Roxas!" the brunette called him and ran up to him.

Ash quickly caught up with the sapphire-eyed girl and they stood before the mysterious man. The only thing the couple could see were his eyes that shined like sapphires.

"Yes?" the man asked them.

"We figured this would be a good time to talk to you because we haven't seen you since Pallet Town," May informed the man of her intentions.

"Were you really the one who saved us from Omega back in Pallet and the one who sent us the Metagross?" Ash questioned with curiosity while staring up at the man who was a bit taller than him.

"I was just doing my job," the figure answered coldly.

May became a bit intimidated by her voice, but found the courage to say, "Oh, well thank you." The girl smiled at him kindly though, she was still a bit frightened by him.

"Who are you?" Ash inquired the man again.

The man turned his back against May and Ash and spoke, "It's nothing of importance, you're better off not knowing."

"Huh?" Ash and May became confused by his enigmatic choice of words.

"Here, this belongs to the museum" the man grabbed the Black Stone out of his pocket and threw it at Ash, who caught it.

"Goodbye now," the man said and formed a portal in front of him.

"Wait, we're not done!" May tried to stop him, but the man ignored her and went through the portal, disappearing.

The brunette placed her hands on her hips and frowned, "That was rude. Who does that guy think he is? He may be a hero, but didn't his mother teach him any manners?"

Ash placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find out about him one day, but for now let's just be thankful for how we managed to get out of a tight situation. We even got the Black Stone back."

May looked into Ash's tender eyes and smiled, "Yeah, you're right Ash. At least we made it in one piece." The brunette hugged him and hid her face in his chest while the boy returned the embrace.

"So what did that guy say to you?" Cilan and the others interrupted the tender moment between the two.

Ash and May separated and smiled at them. "He left without saying too much, but he did give us the Black Stone," the auburn-eyed teen handed the item to Lenora.

"That's too bad, I didn't get to thank him, but I also owe you kids a thank you as well. It was a good thing you came along with me to the museum, I honestly don't know what I would have done, you helped me protect the museum and even though we didn't arrest those guys, we got what we needed back, so again, thank you for your help, Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Axew," Lenora smiled at the group of six.

"It was no problem Lenora, we're always happy to help," Ash placed his arms behind his head and grinned at the woman.

"We hope you catch those bad guys soon," Iris smiled at the Gym Leader.

"Remember to stay in touch," Cilan grinned at the woman.

"And I hope we meet again," May stated with a kind tone.

Lenora laughed and nodded, "Will do."

* * *

**Later that day…**

"Our whole stay in Nacrene City has been pretty crazy hasn't it?" Iris talked to the other friends as they began leaving the city.

"Sure was, with all of the battling, training, and bad guys. This might probably be a memorable event in our journey," Cilan recalled Don George's training, the battles with Lenora, and the encounter with the villainous teams and Roxas.

"I still can't help, but think who that Roxas guy is," May placed her finger on her chin as they walked.

"Well, you're going to have to forget about for now because up next is your contest," Ash reminded May that her next contest was up.

May's eyes shined with glee and the brunette spoke, "That's right! Good thing I got my training done during this whole time from Striaton City to Nacrene City."

"I can't wait to see how well you'll perform," Ash showed interest in something that wasn't gym battles for the first time in a while.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu expressed the same enthusiasm as his trainer.

"Wonder if Hilda will be there," Iris began to wonder.

May thought about it for a moment, but then formed a confident smile and spoke, "It doesn't matter if Hilda will be there or not, I plan on winning and that's all that matters," the brunette made a fist that represented determination.

"That's the spirit," Ash smiled at May, admiring her excitement and sapphire-eyed girl grabbed his hand, winking at him.

And with that, the gang continued their journey around the Unova region, but what other surprises will be store for them is unknown yet.

**That's it, I hope you enjoyed it. I had fun writing this chapter cause I finally got to reintroduce Roxas or the guy that saved Ash and May in Pallet Town during the first story. The next chapter should be up in a week or so, stick around till then and remember to review about anything, thoughts, opinions, etc. See ya next time!**


	14. Double Disaster

Chapter 14: Against All Odds

"This view is beautiful," May admired the panorama of Tempus Town. She could spot the local bakeries, shops, restaurants, and sea cliffs from this height. May's eyes focused on the clear blue waves hitting against the cliffs in the distance, and spoke, "I'd love to go over there later."

"Before you start deciding where to visit while we're here, shouldn't you be more concerned about getting down this clock tower and heading to the Contest building, they are about to soon," Iris pointed out the reason the gang came to Tempus Town.

"Although the view from this clock tower is nice, I agree with Iris, we should get going," Cilan agreed with Iris's suggestion.

Ash placed his hands behind his back and smiled, "Relax you two, May already signed up for the contest and we still have time to get there, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu added to what Ash said, the mouse was as mesmerized by the view as May.

May grinned at Ash and squeezed his hand as a thank you for his support. Iris and Cilan sighed; the couple had many things in common. Carelessness and a laidback attitude were two of those things.

The brunette's sapphire eyes continued to wander, admiring the town until she spotted someone familiar walking in the distance, her black and white top, short shorts and white cap helped May easily identify the girl.

"Look guys, it's Hilda!" May pointed at her rival while exclaiming her name.

The others looked at the direction May was pointing at and spotted Hilda, the coordinator they had met in Striaton City. "Who knew we'd run into her here?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

Iris crossed her arms and sighed, "She's a coordinator, Ash. It's no surprise she's here."

Cilan and Pikachu laughed while Ash grinned sheepishly, knowing that Iris had just called him stupid in other words.

"C'mon, let's go catch up with her!" May declared excitedly and rushed into the clock tower, the sounds of the brunette rushing down the stairs echoed throughout the building.

Ash and the others quickly went after the brunette, seeing as they had no other choice. The gang rushed down the clock tower and ran through the streets of the humble town, dashing through the crowds of people and excusing themselves.

Eventually, the group caught up to May's rival and May was the first to speak, "Hilda!" the Hoenn coordinator shouted her name in excitement.

"Huh?" the Unova brunette responded and turned around, but as soon as she saw who was in front of her, the girl's eyes shined with joy and the girl shouted, "May!"

The Nuvema girl looked behind her rival and saw her other friends, "Ash, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Axew!" the teen screamed their names as well, so loud that Axew had been forced to come out Iris's hair to see what all the commotion was about.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other," May spoke joyfully.

"I know, I've been looking forward to the day we meet again and here you guys are! This is fantastic!" Hilda spread her arms in joy.

"You must have gotten a lot training done since we first met in Striaton, huh?" Ash asked the brunette.

Hilda nodded happily, remembering how cute Ash was, but knew he belonged to her rival. "Yeah, I've gotten a lot done since then and now I'm ready to compete again."

"Have you won any ribbons since the day in Striaton City?" Iris asked the girl.

Hilda shook her head sideways and answered, "Nope, I've just been dedicating myself to training since we met, I knew I would have to get a lot of training done if I wanted to catch up with you, May," the brunette turned her gaze to the sapphire-eyed coordinator.

"That's great to hear, you must have spiced up your techniques a significant amount since that time," Cilan commented, recalling Hilda's superb battling and coordinating strategies.

May smiled and spoke eagerly, "I've gotten a lot of training done since then too and I'm ready to win the Tempus Contest!"

"I'm looking forward to competing with you again, May," Hilda smiled confidently and spoke again, "Why don't we get to the Contest building, the event is about to start."

The Petalburg girl thought about how she wanted to see a little more of Tempus Town, but she knew there were other responsibilities and nodded, "Ok!"

"Did you pick the two Pokémon you're going to use for the Double Appeal Round and Double Battle Round?" Hilda questioned.

"Yep, when they told me about that while I was signing up, I already had it all figured out," the brunette nodded, acknowledging the Double rule in this Contest.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Tempus Contest starts in 5 minutes, contestants must get to the building as soon as possible," the speakers of the town announced.

"We better get going," Cilan stated and they all nodded. They rushed to the Contest building, wasting no time to get there.

Once they got inside the building, the coordinators knew they had to split from their friends before the event, so Ash approached May before they went their separate ways. "May, you ready for this?"

"You bet, I'm not nervous like last time. I'm ready to win!" May made a fist of confidence, showing Ash she was ready for the competition.

Ash smiled and kissed her forehead, "Go get em."

"Good luck you two!" Ash, Iris, Cilan, Axew, and Pikachu wished the pair good luck.

May grinned, still feeling the warmth of Ash's lips on her forehead. The brunette turned to Hilda and they smiled, "Let's get to the locker room," May said and they nodded in agreement.

The duo walked into the locker room and saw all the other coordinators. They all seemed excited and determined to win; each person was grooming or petting their Pokémon in preparation for the competition.

"Wonder who's going to go first," May wondered and turned to the screen with Hilda.

Much to the pair's surprise, they saw Hilda as #1 on the list and May closely behind. "We're starting so soon?" Hilda raised an eyebrow.

May grinned and spoke, "Well, all that's left is to go out and impress the crowd. Good luck Hilda," the brunette smiled and wished her friend good luck.

"Thanks May, I'll do my best," Hilda smiled at May and rushed out of the locker room, ready to go on stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Tempus Town and the Tempus Contest! I'm your host, the usual and one and only, Jillian!" the woman welcomed the audience and introduced herself.

Jillian waved at the crowd and yelled, "I'm so happy you were able to join us here today and with us, we have the usual judges of every contest, please welcome the President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo, Mr. Contesta, and of course, the local Nurse Joy!"

The audience cheered loudly for the three judges and Jillian spoke again, "Today, we are going to see some of the most astounding coordinators in Unova region and their Pokémon in action! So up first is a local of Nuvema Town, she's the talented, caring, and beautiful princess of Unova, guys, keep in mind that she's single. Please welcome, Hilda!" Jillian winked at the male audience while welcoming Hilda and shot her arm upward.

Hilda got on the stage, waving at her fans and the rest of the audience, some of the males wolf-whistled at her, but the brunette paid no mind to them and smiled confidently. The girl reached for two Pokéballs and wasted no time in beginning her performance, "Rufflet, Jellicent, come out!"

A pink creature emerged from its Pokéball, its mouth resembling a heart, frills on its tentacles, a tall crown, and a puffy collar around its neck. Next to it, a small avian Pokémon stood, who resembled an eagle. Its head had a thick covering of fuzzy white down and a grayish-blue face. A single red and white plume extended from its forehead.

"Rufflet, let's see what the Pokédex has to say about this one," Ash sat among the audience with his friends, curious about the eagle-like Pokémon.

"Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokémon, Rufflet's talons are powerful, able to crack open even the toughest berries. It often challenges stronger opponents to battle," the automated voice of the Pokédex stated.

"Hilda never used Rufflet in the last contest, let's see how strong that little bird is," Iris watched attentively with Cilan and Pikachu.

Hilda smiled and made her command, "Rufflet, show us your speed by forming a twister, like we practiced!"

"Ruff," the bird chirped and began flying around in circles with incredible speed, bit by bit Rufflet began ascending a circular wind began forming, it resembled a tornado.

"Just one more push Rufflet!" Hilda informed her Pokémon.

The crowd slowly got more and more interested as Rufflet began flying and creating a thick visible twister. The audience had to hold on to anything that threatened to fly away because of the wind, including Ash, who held his hat down with his hand.

"Jellicent, this is your part, use Icy Wind!" Hilda instructed while pointing at the twister Rufflet continued to form.

Jellicent nodded and released a cool breeze shining with blue sparkles. Rufflet quickly moved away from the twister as it began to freeze because of the Icy Wind. The powerful gust began to weaken as the entire tornado turned into a sculpture of ice.

The crowd, including Ash and the gang became fascinated when the tornado completely froze, shining like a twister of gems while the audience applauded Hilda's combination. Hilda placed her hands on her hips and grinned, "We're not done yet, Rufflet, finish this with Brave Bird!"

"Ruuuuffffleeeet!" the bird cried out and began charging down like a missile. At first, the Pokémon's body became enveloped with fire, but then turned into a light blue energy that consumed the bird's entire body.

Rufflet charged into the hole of the tornado, illuminating the ice sculpture from within. The tornado emitted blue rays of light like a disco ball, amazing the crowd yet again. When Rufflet finally made impact, the whole sculpture burst into bits as blue sparkles spread all over the room, the crowd astonished by the fine beauty and ferocity of Hilda's combination.

"Fin," Hilda and her Pokémon took a bow. The crowd applauded, shouted, and whistled for Hilda in praise.

"Hilda really knows how to excite a crowd," Iris said with amazement.

"Her combinations are just too phenomenal," Cilan praised the brunette.

"Pi pika!" Pikachu's eyes glistened with admiration.

Ash smiled and clapped for Hilda, then the boy spoke, "Hilda's good, but May's better."

"Wow, she never fails to impress," May looked at the screen with surprise, gazing at the blue sparkles roaming the room.

"Truly amazing, Hilda, you've done it again, but let's see what our judges thought!" Jillian announced and turned her attention to the trio.

The three judges pressed several buttons and a score appear on the screen that hung over the trio. "Unbelievable, Hilda has a perfect 25!" Jillian announced cheerfully.

"The disco tornado complemented the rest of the combination perfectly," Mr. Contesta commented.

"I'm speechless," Nurse Joy grinned sweetly.

"Remarkable," Mr. Sukizo added.

"Well, there's no doubt in mind I'm advancing to the next round, thanks you two," Hilda smiled and returned Jellicent and Rufflet to their Pokéballs. She waved one last time at the crowd and rushed back to the locker room.

There she met up with May and smiled, "How'd I do?"

"Hilda, congratulations, I'm almost as speechless as Nurse Joy," May complimented the brunette's performance.

May's rival grinned and spoke, "I'm sure you'll do just as well, good luck May."

"Thanks, I'll do my best," May grinned and wasted no time in getting on stage.

"Up next is a girl from Hoenn, she's dubbed "The Princess of Hoenn," by my sister and has accomplished some incredible feats, please give a warm welcome to May!" Jillian happily extended her arm in May's direction, putting the spotlight on the brunette.

The sapphire-eyed girl smiled and waved at the crowd, receiving applauds, cheers, and wolf whistles like Hilda. May turned her gaze to Ash and the others, who were sitting in the third row of the seats.

They smiled at her and she smiled back. May reached for her two Pokéballs and smiled, "Ok guys, you're up, Blaziken, Tepig, take the stage!" the brunette shouted and released her two Fire-types.

Tepig and Blaziken appeared on stage, standing proudly in front of the crowd. The audience showed admiration for the two strong-looking Pokémon and anticipated a great performance from the sapphire beauty.

"Let's get started, Blaziken, use Fire Spin!" May commanded her starter with excitement.

"Blaziken!" the Fire-type nodded and released a spiral stream of fire. The Blaze Pokémon manipulated its trajectory and made it shoot out across the room.

May smiled and spoke again, "Tepig, you use Flamethrower and shoot it through the Fire Spin!"

"Tepig!" the Fire-type shook its head and released the stream of fire. The Flamethrower got between the spiral of the Fire Spin and that's when the interesting part began to happen. The tip of Blaziken's Fire Spin took the shape of a dragon's head, similar in appearance to that Reshiram.

The jaws of the fire dragon opened the Flamethrower shot out. The dragon-like stream of fire flew across the room, blasting fire against the ground and making the room shine as well as heat. The Panlong-like dragon towered over the audience proudly and roared out fire.

"Blaziken, wrap it up with Overheat!" May instructed and Blaziken's blast changed from Fire Spin to Overheat. The fire dragon remained there and continued to blast fire because of Tepig, but then Blaziken shot its Overheat between the spirals of the fire, fusing with Flamethrower.

When the dragon blasted the fused form of Flamethrower and Overheat, the entire ground burst into flames while the dragon burst into small embers. The fire caused by the combination sent off a strong heat and shined like the sun, astounding everyone including May's friends.

When the fire finally went out, the crowd's jaws dropped from the admiration. Blaziken and Tepig stood proudly next to May, who was smiling joyfully.

"I helped her learn that one," Ash smiled at his girlfriend from his seat, remembering the struggle the pair went through to teach Blaziken and Tepig the combination.

"That last part was awesome!" Iris got up and cheered happily.

"I've seen several contests in my life, but I've never seen such a combination be executed so gracefully and ferocious," Cilan's eyes were shining from the astonishment.

"Pi pi pikachu," Pikachu smiled. The mouse was clearly proud of his friends' performance.

"You only see those kinds of things at festival, I've been completely blown away by that performance, but let's see what the judges thought," Jillian grinned and turned to the judges.

The trio all pressed several buttons and a large 23 appeared on the screen. "A 23, an incredibly high score obtained from such an elegant executed performance!" Jillian announced to the crowd.

"The soul of a coordinator burns with the kind of determination May showed us today with such a fantastic combination," Mr. Contesta smiled.

"It just made my day," Nurse Joy grinned at the crowd.

"Remarkable," Mr. Sukizo commented.

"Please give May one more round of applause ladies and gents!" Jillian declared and the audience praised May one last time.

"She may not have gotten a perfect score, but…" Ash spoke to his friends.

"I know I'm definitely getting into the next round, who says you need perfection to win," May giggled to herself and turned to her two friends. "Thank you both. Now take a good rest," the sapphire-eyed teen grinned at Blaziken and Tepig. Then she returned them to their Pokéballs.

The brunette returned to the locker room where she got congratulated by Hilda, "May that was amazing, you should have earned a 25, but still, you did incredible out there!"

"Thanks, I'm confident I'll get into the next round," May formed a confident fist.

After the other contestants performed, Jillian wasted no time in announcing the people who would advance to the Battle Round. "Now, let's see who had enough potential to advance to the next round and who they are going up against, I'm just as excited as you are folks!" Jillian spoke to the audience.

Everyone turned their gaze to the large blank screen, suddenly a chart popped up, showing who would advance to the next round. Among them were May and Hilda, which made May, Hilda, and the friends smile, but then they found out the shocking part. May and Hilda were going to face each other for this round.

"Battling so soon?" Hilda raised an eyebrow.

"Is May up for this again?" Iris looked at the screen with question.

"Looks like we're going to find out sooner than we thought," Cilan gazed at the screen.

"May…" Ash murmured and turned to Pikachu, who also had mixed feelings about the upcoming battle and it was the first battle for the round.

"I wish we didn't have to battle so soon Hilda, but I guess it can't be avoided," May turned to Hilda and made a half-grin.

"Let's take a 5 minute break before starting the next round, till then folks," Jillian told the audience and exited the stage.

Hilda smiled at May, "I'm looking forward to our battle May, even if it is early. I'm going to go get prepared for the battle, I'll catch you in a few," the brunette smiled and dashed off.

"May," a voice called the brunette and the girl turned around to see her friends.

She smiled at them happily, "Hey guys."

"You did great during the Appeal Round, we were all so happy for me," Iris clasped her hands joyfully.

"Indeed, it was a rare performance," Cilan smiled at the brunette.

"Iris and Cilan are right May; you made it to the Battle Round. So are you ready to battle Hilda again?" Ash placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly.

"More than ever, I'm ready to win!" the brunette smiled confidently.

"We're glad to hear it," Ash said and the boy smiled at her along with Pikachu, Iris, Cilan and Axew.

All of a sudden, the bell rang. "Break time is over, we better get back to our seats," Cilan recommended.

"That was quick," Iris said.

"Good luck May," Ash smiled at her and went off with their friends.

May smiled at her friends and turned to the screen, Jillian was speaking to the audience about the Battle Round. "Hilda isn't back yet, but I better get going," May said to no one in particular and ran off.

The brunette got on the stage and received cheer from many people, including her friends. May just waved at the crowd and then turned to the opposite end of the battlefield, at the other end, May spotted Hilda standing there.

"Hilda, where have you been?" May asked the brunette about her whereabouts.

"I did some last minute training, now I feel ready to win," Hilda smiled confidently.

"Don't count on it," May gave Hilda a smirk and reached for two Pokéballs.

"Let the battle begin!" Jillian made a karate chop motion and the coordinators began to battle.

"Deerling, Purrloin, take the stage!" May threw the Pokéballs into the air, summoning the Grass-type and Dark-type onto the field, the duo was clearly eager to battle.

Hilda smirked and released her Pokémon, "Servine, Cubchoo, on stage!"

The Ice-Type and Grass-type glared at their opponents, determined to win just like their trainer. "Deerling, use Camouflage and then Double Kick on Cubchoo!" May commanded. Deerling nodded and blended in with environment.

"Purrloin, use Night Slash on Servine!" May instructed her other Pokémon to attack Servine.

Hilda smiled and ordered, "Servine, get close to Cubchoo and use Flash!"

"Ser," the Servine replied and got near Cubchoo. When the Servine thought the time was precise, it unleashed a bright ball from its palms and raised it into the air, blinding the audience and Deerling as well as Purrloin.

Distracted by the light, Deerling revealed its location and was just a few inches away from Cubchoo. Hilda took advantage of the distraction and made her next command, "Cubchoo, multiply by 2 and one of you uses Brine on Purrloin and Echoed Voice on Deerling!"

"Cub!" the bear acknowledged and became two Cubchoo. One of them shot a stream of water at Purrloin, sending it flying against the ground while the other sent Deerling flying against the ground with the loud sound waves of Cubchoo's cry.

Servine stopped using Flash and snickered. May grinded her teeth and spoke, "Deerling, use Nature Power on Servine! Purrloin, use Assist on the pair of Cubchoo!"

Deerling released a barrage of stars at Servine while Purrloin used Assist on Cubchoo, releasing an Energy Ball in the process. Hilda smirked, "Cubchoo, become one again and Servine, use Light Screen to protect the both of you."

Cubchoo became a single being again and Servine got between the bear and the attacks. The Grass-type then summoned a barrier in front of them to cancel out the two attacks. Servine's Light Screen absorbed the attacks and Servine absorbed the energy from the barrier.

"Servine's just obtained the power from your Special Attacks, now you'll see real power," Hilda smirked and spoke again, "Servine, use Giga Drain!" Servine extended its vines and released green energy beams that aimed to capture Purrloin and Deerling.

"Both of you dodge now!" May exclaimed with haste, Purrloin managed to dodge in time, but Deerling was too slow and became wrapped in the green energy.

"Purrloin, stop Servine from draining Deerling's energy with Slash!" May ordered quickly as in act of retaliation.

"Purrloin!" the cat shouted and rushed toward Servine at full speed.

"Cubchoo, stop Purrloin with Icy Wind!" Hilda countered.

May clenched her fist and made a command, "Counter Cubchoo with Sand-Attack!" Purrloin nodded and got near Cubchoo before it could attack, the cat kicked dust into the bear's eyes, blinding it.

The brunette smiled, but saw that Deerling's energy had already been sapped too much and her points were nearing ½ of a bar. "Forget Slash, use Shadow Ball now!" May instructed.

Purrloin opened its jaw and released the Ghost-type attack. "Servine, stop now and use Light Screen," Hilda tried to fight back, but Shadow Ball launched too fast and sent Servine flying, and then crashing against the ground.

Deerling got on its knees and gasped for air, for energy. May knew Purrloin and Deerling could not keep up with Hilda's defense and strategy for much longer, it was taking too much of a toll on her team and Hilda's bar was still a little over ¾.

"This is bad, May's not able to keep up," Iris grinded her teeth.

"Every part of this battle is in favor of Hilda," Cilan's eyes showed frustration.

"C'mon May, you can't afford to lose," Ash clenched his fist in concern while his pal watched with angst.

Servine got up while Cubchoo could finally see again. "Servine, use Swords Dance!" Hilda instructed.

"Purrloin, stop it with another Shadow Ball! Deerling, you serve as backup with Energy Ball!" May instructed with anxiety.

"Cubchoo, stop them with Echoed Voice!" Hilda countered again. Her Ice-type leaped in front of Servine and canceled out the double attack with the sound waves of its cry.

Meanwhile, Servine's arms glowed purple and the serpent-like creature slashed them against the air. Hilda smirked and spoke, "Cubchoo, multiply in to as many numbers as you can."

"Stop Cubchoo with Night Slash!" May demanded with a loud voice.

"Counter it Servine, with Leaf Blade!" Hilda instructed. The two attacks clashed with each other as both opponents grinded their teeth. Sparks began to form from the collision and the pair entered a power struggle.

"Deerling, help out with Take Down!" May tried to come up with a way to stop Servine.

Before Deerling could get any close though, over four dozen copies of Cubchoo surrounded the three Pokémon. One of them stopped Deerling's charge with Ice Beam and sent the Grass-type crashing against the wall, its eyes swirled.

"Deerling is down, time to end this," Hilda smiled confidently.

May's eyes showed signs of anxiety and the brunette returned her Grass-type into her Pokeball. The brunette turned to Purrloin and saw the cat still struggling with Servine.

"Servine, back flip into the crowd of Cubchoo!" Hilda commanded and Servine did a backwards somersault, now hiding among the copies of Cubchoo.

May grinded her teeth, _there's no way I'll be able to find Servine or even hit the real Cubchoo like this, there's only one thing to do_, "Purrloin, use Iron Tail on every last Cubchoo!"

Purrloin leaped upward and turned her tail into iron, ready to strike down its opponent. Suddenly, a figure dashed out of the crowd and sent Purrloin crashing against the dirt. The figure then went back into the crowd of Cubchoo.

"Servine is using some kind of guerilla warfare tactic, but there's no one I can flush them all out at once, Purrloin keep trying!" the sapphire-eyed girl saw no choice, but to continue with the same strategy.

Servine emerged out of the crowd and slammed Purrloin against the ground again. May clenched her fist even more and ordered the cat to repeat the attack again, "Again!"

"May is battling aimlessly, her technique is bland and she's just getting fried out there," Cilan shut his eyes in frustration.

"Is there any way she can win?" Iris stared at the battlefield, seeing Purrloin getting slammed into the floor just made her more impatient.

"May, c'mon you can't just give up," Ash clenched his fist harder than May did, becoming anxious with how the battle was going.

"My techniques have become much more diverse this time May, I'm untouchable, my defense and speed are just too high for you to keep up with, and my combinations are much too clever to get through. I'm glad we got to battle again, but I have to end it now!" Hilda extended her arm to the left.

"No…Purrloin keep going!" May exclaimed and the cat followed her instructions. All of a sudden, Servine came out of the crowd and prepared to slam Purrloin with Leaf Blade again, but May came up with a different tactic this time, "Purrloin, focus your Iron Tail on Servine!"

Purrloin quickly turned to the fast Servine and their tails clashed with each other, creating yet another collision and the formation of sparks. May grinded her teeth and hoped Purrloin could overpower Servine, but there wasn't much progress.

Hilda smirked and made her final command, "Full power." Servine's tail shined brighter than before and finally gained enough power to slam Purrloin against the ground, knocking it out for good this time.

May's eyes were wide when she saw Purrloin unconscious in front of her, "But how?" the girl wondered.

"Swords Dance increased Servine's power, there's no way you could have kept up with that," Hilda petted her Servine and Cubchoo, who had walked over to her for affection after realizing that they had won.

May stood motionless; the girl had forgotten what the feeling of defeat was like. She felt it getting stronger every time Hilda waved and blew kisses at the audience. The audience just cheered louder for her while she felt herself shrinking, she lost her chance to win the Tempus Ribbon.

"May lost!" Iris yelled out in anger.

"Hilda's strategy was superior to May's, while Hilda relied more on defense and speed to win, May focused her mind on brute strength, there's no way May could have won," Cilan hated to admit, but it was the truth.

Ash and Pikachu remained silent. The raven-haired teen hid his eyes under the brim of his hat and stared at the girl.

May walked over to Hilda like a robot and spoke to her, "Hilda, congratulations," the brunette gave her a weak smile.

Hilda smiled at May sweetly, "Thank you May, if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have improved as much as I did. One loss just equals one victory in the future."

"Right," May smiled weakly and then ran off, fighting back the tears in her eyes.

Ash and his friends saw May dart out of the room, surprised by her actions. The auburn-eyed teen sighed and spoke, "I'll go after her. You guys meet me in the Pokémon Center."

The messy-haired teen received a nod from his friends, including Pikachu and he dashed out of the room as well, in search of May.

The boy raced out of the Contest building in search of his beloved, but she was nowhere to be found. He ran across the whole perimeter in search of her and with every minute, Ash became more worried about his girlfriend.

He saw a man walking by the Contest building and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen a girl with a white bandana."

The man nodded sideways, "Nope, sorry kid."

Ash grunted and left the area, asking people nearby if they had seen a girl with a white bandana. All the boy got were sideways nods and "no", which just made things worse for him.

"How has no one seen a girl with a white bandana, it's not that hard to find one, the only girl I know that wears them is May," Ash spoke with an aggravated tone as he ran all over Tempus Town.

_May…you must be feeling horrible right now. Hilda proved stronger than any of us would have thought and I guess, the loss just hit you really hard. The worst part is you can't win the ribbon again. When I lost, I could battle Lenora as many times I wanted, but if you lose a contest you can't participate again because there's only one…_

The boy continued to ask people around he even entered shopping stores and restaurants, but no one had seen May. _A contest is a one shot thing, you miss, and you lose. I just wish I could find you, I know how you must be feeling right now and that's why I need to find you, you have to be around here somewhere. I promised Drew, your parents, and Max that I'd make sure you are never sad, you are never alone, I can't break that promise, they are counting on me. _

Ash stopped to take deep breaths, now sweating and running out of energy, the boy went through every corner of the town to see if May was hiding there, but he had no luck. He walked across the town, shifting his gaze every second.

_If I were you where would I be, I looked through every hole in this town. You know what…this is my fault, I should have trained with you more, I never taught you enough about how to deal with opponents like Hilda who rely so much on speed and defense, maybe it's my fault you feel so sad right now…_

The boy began questioning his responsibility over May, but then images of Misty, Brock, his mother, and Professor Oak appeared in his head. They all told Ash the same thing he had been told since the start of his journey, _avoid doubting yourself_. The raven-haired teen shook off his pessimistic attitude and smiled, _I can't start questioning myself too now, I'm doing everything I can to be there for my friends and May, I'm going to find her now!_

Ash looked up at the sky and whispered, "If May isn't at a restaurant, a shopping store, or an alleyway, then where else could she be." The boy lowered his head and spotted the sea cliffs, _that's it!_ The boy shouted in his mind.

He smiled and remembered May talking about wanting to go there later; it's the only last logical place where she could be. Ash hastily ran to the sea cliffs in search of May, it took him several minutes to get there, but once he did, he reached a small hill.

The black-haired boy walked to the top, the higher he got, the more beautiful the sea became. The reflection of the sun made it shine like a large sapphire; it glistened like May's eyes. When he reached the top, he found May sitting on the edge of the cliff.

Ash smiled, proud that he had been to deduce his lover's location. He walked over to here quietly and sat next to her without a word. Ash admired the sea with May, he didn't look at her face, but he had an idea of how she must be feeling. After a few minutes of staring at the sea and listening to the waves of the water, Ash spoke while still staring forward.

"May…" Ash said.

"Yes?" May turned her gaze to him.

When Ash saw her movement through the corner of his eye, he turned to her and saw her sapphire eyes surrounded by a pink sclera rather than the usual white. Ash smiled and hugged her, placing her head on his chest, "I know its hard May, but let it go, release the feeling that's strangling you."

May began to whimper without another word, Ash felt his clothes getting wet from all the tears. The brunette didn't wail like usual, she cried rather silently in his chest. "May, I know you haven't been defeated like that since you were in Johto, it must be why it's hit you harder than anyone could have thought, but you know what…it's ok."

May raised her head and looked at him, "It's…not ok Ash…I've been spoiled since the Johto Grand Festival up until now, I feel and know I'm overreacting, but I just can't control, I feel like the younger me when I first lost to Drew in Slateport City."

Ash let out a deep breath, "You're not over reacting May, it's normal for you to feel like this, it has happened to all of us, especially to me," the boy chuckled. "A few days ago, I was the one in need, I lost to Lenora and I felt like everything in my world had stopped, I also felt like that when I lost in the Sinnoh League, but you know what, I made it through, especially during the most recent one and it was the easiest one to get over…because you were there."

The brunette wiped the tears out of her eyes and remained silent. Ash continued to speak, "Remember how you said I managed to overcome every defeat in the past, well I think it's your turn to do the same. I know getting a contest ribbon is much harder to gain than a gym badge, because you only get one chance at winning it, but there are other contests lurking in Unova and I know you can win those with the right attitude. Whenever you lost to Drew, Harley, or Solidad, you were sad, but in the end you moved on because your friends were there to help you, you became encouraged to continue again, you would continue to get stronger and aspire to become the best. This defeat is no different, and like the others, I know you'll come back on top."

May's tears had dried and left stains on her cheek, the brunette now just kept sniffling. Ash grinned and kept speaking, "You eventually beat Drew, Harley, and Solidad, you already beat Hilda and I know you will do it again in the future, you'll even dominate the Unova Grand Festival because May…you are more determined, more vigorous, and more confident than anyone else I have ever met. Today's loss will just make you stronger, all losses do that, it's what helps you grow and I know next time, you'll be ready for anything because today's lesson has just made you stronger and grow as a person. By the way May, if there's anyone who believes more in you than anything, it's me, because of love you."

Ash made May stand up and smiled at her. "Ash…" the brunette mumbled and formed a small smile; she embraced him caringly while he returned the hug. He wrapped his arms around her completely, by doing that, he felt like it was his duty to protect and love her, May could be as fierce as a Blaziken at times and as feeble as a Torchic during others, but in either cases, Ash would be there, to serve as her guardian angel.

May looked up at him and her lips reached his. May's lips touching his own felt like a blessing, her body pressed against his felt like an honor, and just being with her felt like heaven. For the couple, nothing was better for them than each other. It was only them and the sound of the waves.

The brunette stopped to catch some air and breathed on his lips, she could feel his warm, fresh breath touching her lips as two stared into each other's eyes. May became lost in his eyes again and kissed him once more, she wanted to shower him in passion, no one was more important than her lover, and only he had the right to love her in that way.

Ash stopped the kiss this time and smiled at her, "Feeling better?"

"Very," May giggled and tried to kiss him again, but the boy stopped her lips with his fingers.

Ash grinned at her sweetly, "I think we've had our fun for the day, we should probably get back to the Pokémon Center."

May felt the world where only she and Ash lived collapse, she came back to the reality where other people also lived. She felt a bit disappointed to see her world vanish again, but she knew they had to catch up with their friends, "Alright," the brunette shook her head.

"Then let's go," Ash smiled and they began walking hand in hand, leaving the sea behind.

* * *

**At the Pokémon Center…**

Ash and May entered the building and found Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Axew sitting on the seats. The friends looked up and saw the couple smiling down at them. Cilan, Pikachu, Iris, and Axew grinned back at them, sensing that all was well.

"Feeling better?" Iris gave May a warm smile.

"I'm ready for anything," the sapphire-eyed girl smiled at Iris and at Ash, who she winked at.

"Fantastic," Cilan cheered happily and grinned.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted joyfully and got on May's left shoulder.

"Ax axew ax," Axew got Iris's shoulder and smiled at the lovebirds.

May smiled at them and asked, "So, who won the contest anyway?"

"Hilda…" Iris answered, trying to awaken the sensitive side inside May.

The sapphire-eyed girl felt sad inside at first, but she knew there were many other contests to go after in Unova and they were all waiting for her. May looked at her friends and spoke, "She earned it."

Ash and the others smiled at her reaction, it was the mature and best way to handle a defeat, especially if it's to a friend. May giggled, the brunette herself felt better just by admitting it.

Suddenly, the Pokémon Center's doors opened and the group turned around to spot Hilda. The brunette walked over to them and smiled, "Hey guys, you sure left in a rush after the first part of the Battle Round, especially you May, is everything alright?" the brunette asked with concern in her tone.

May sighed and spoke, "Hilda, I was sad and jealous of you and because I lost. It was wrong for me to do that, I was acting like a sore loser and I'm sorry for that. You earned the ribbon fair and square, so congratulations for that."

Hilda smiled at May, "It doesn't change anything about my opinion over you May, the defeat you faced happens to all of us, it's happened to me many times before, but…"

"Defeat is just one step to victory," May grinned, finishing what Hilda was about to say.

Hilda grinned and nodded calmly. "I'm happy you believe that May, it's one of the many truths I've learned in this life and I'm glad you understand it too."

"I owe it to my friends," May simply answered and looked at Pikachu, Iris, Cilan, Axew, and Ash, giving each of them a sweet smile.

"I hope we meet again May and next time, we'll give it our very best," Hilda made a fist and formed a confident smile.

"You can count on it," May mirrored Hilda's gesture. The two girls shook their hands in agreement and grinned in anticipation for the next time they meet, hopefully soon.

When they separated hands, Hilda spoke one last time, "I have to go now, time to get back to training and in search of the next contest."

May shook her head up and down, "Goodbye Hilda."

Hilda exited the Pokémon Center and waved goodbye to her friends. Ash and May, along with the others, happily waved goodbye to Hilda as she ran off into the sunset, ready to continue her journey just like the gang was ready to continue their adventure in Unova.

**May is pretty spoiled, probably the most spoiled out of the four anime girls, but I feel like that just makes me like her even more, cause she seems to recognize it and tries to improve on that, but who cares about my opinion? Lol. Anyway, how many of you knew May was going to lose? I didn't want to make May lose in all honesty, but I feel like its necessary for the protagonists to feel defeated at some point and of course to keep the Advanceshipping thing going. I hope you enjoyed the Chapter, I'll have Chapter 15 ready by maybe tomorrow or Monday, if I have time, I'll post tomorrow. Chapter 15 will have another character debut and a pretty exciting plot, so till then! Remember to review, PM if anything regarding opinions or questions, bye!**


	15. Showdown of Justice

Chapter 15: Vim and Vigor

His eyes began to feel tired throughout the walk and the boy ultimately sighed, "My arms are getting tired from carrying the egg around for so long, I think it's time I put it back in my backpack," Ash told his friends, making the group stop so the boy could place his egg from the Day Care back in his backpack.

"Ash you are so lazy, only a kid would get tired of carrying an egg around, unless you are one?" Iris raised an eyebrow and smirked, teasing the boy.

Ash glared at her and murmured, "It's heavier than it looks."

Cilan, May, Pikachu, and Axew laughed at the pair's antics, none of them bothering to end the small argument. Ash placed his egg in his backpack and zipped it shut, but the boy's attention suddenly shifted to the sound of leaves rustling. The auburn-eyed teen looked around, wondering where the noise came from.

"Where's that coming from?" Cilan tried to figure out the location of the rustling.

May tried to observe through the tall trees and thick bushes surrounding them, trying to locate the source of the sound. The brunette tried to focus her hearing and gaze in the direction of the sound, her eyes widened slightly and pointed in the direction she was staring, "That's what is making the noise."

The friends turned to the direction May gazed and spotted a small Pokémon picking berries off a bush. It was light green and its head was shaped like a bulb, resembling an onion to an extent. Its face was white and crescent-shaped with a green "bib" around its neck. The tiny creature picked off one berry at a time and ate each one, making the leaves rustle every time she picked off a berry.

May placed her hands on her cheeks and her eyes glistened with fascination, "What a cute Pokémon, I wonder what it's called."

"That's Petilil, a Grass-type and its pretty common around here," Iris informed May regarding the name of the short Pokémon.

"Petilil, let's see what the Pokédex has to say," May reached for her device to learn more.

"Petilil, the Bulb Pokémon. Petilil prefer living in rich, fertile soil where all types of plants grow in abundance," May's Pokédex stated with a robotic voice.

"It clearly likes those berries," Ash kept watching Petilil eat the berries off the bush.

May smiled and reached for a Pokéball, "I'm going to catch it; Petilil will make a great addition to the team."

"I don't see why not," Cilan answered to May's statement.

"Go for it May," Ash encouraged his beloved, knowing May could use another teammate.

May grinned confidently and released her Pokémon, "Tepig, let's catch Petilil!"

Tepig emerged from its Pokéball and cheered happily, ready to do whatever his trainer needed. May pointed at the Petilil, who was still eating and ordered, "Tepig, use Flamethrower!"

"Teeeepig!" the pig cried out and released a powerful stream of fire.

"Petilil is a Grass-type so Flamethrower should be super effective," Iris pointed out, certain about May catching Petilil in no time.

"Pi…" Pikachu spoke to Ash while watching May.

"After losing in Tempus Town, I'm sure Petilil will help May come back on top in her next contest, Pikachu," the spoke in a low voice to his yellow pal.

Petilil turned around and quickly noticed the impending Flamethrower and barely dodged it. May frowned, "Petilil dodged it, doesn't matter, Tepig, use Tackle!"

While Petilil dodged Flamethrower, it wasn't fast enough to dodge Tepig and the Grass-type crashed into the bushes. May grinned confidently, but Petilil jumped out of the bushes, frowning angrily. The Bulb Pokémon unleashed a colorful barrage of sharp leaves at Tepig, but May stood there without a sign of worry.

"Burn Magical Leaf to a crisp with Flamethrower, Tepig," May instructed and Tepig released another stream of fire.

Flamethrower turned the leaves into ashes and left Petilil desperate, the Grass-type had no choice, but to flee the battle. However, May wasn't going to let the Pokémon escape that easy.

"Tepig, get in front Petilil and bash her down with Take Down!" May cried out.

Tepig nodded and as Petilil tried to run away, the fire pig easily caught up with its superior speed and smirked at the Bulb Pokémon. "May's got Petilil now!" Ash made a fist, seeing the situation in favor of May and Tepig.

Petilil showed fear in its eyes and released a white sparkling powder from the top of its head. Before Tepig could bash Petilil, it became paralyzed by the powder Petilil released.

Ash and the others eyes widened in surprise. "Petilil just used Stun Spore," Cilan pointed out.

Petilil glared at Tepig, taking advantage of the pig's immobilization, the Bulb Pokémon used Magical Leaf on the pig, leaving marks on the Fire-type's body. May frowned and made a command, "Tepig, break through your paralyzed state, I know you can do it. When you do, let Petilil have it with another Flamethrower!"

"Teeepiiiig!" Tepig cried out, trying to break from its paralyzed state.

Petilil kept using Magical Leaf on the pig, damaging the Fire-type bit by bit. When Tepig felt like it could break free, it tried to motion forward, but Stun Spore somehow trapped Tepig back in its paralyzed state.

The Bulb Pokémon grinned and became surrounded by white sparkles, making the Grass-type glow white. Energy seemed to run through the small Pokémon and when it finished, Petilil looked as good as new.

"Now it used Synthesis!" Iris pointed out.

"May, you have to help Tepig fight back!" Ash suggested, knowing Tepig was slowly losing energy with every Magical Leaf.

May nodded at him and turned to Tepig, "Tepig, you have to fight back with all your power, awaken the fire inside you and put that Petilil in its place, I'm counting on you!"

Tepig groaned as Petilil kept hitting the pig with Magical Leaf. The starter shut its eyes from the pain and let May's words ring through his head, _awaken the fire, awaken the fire, awaken the fire,_ at that moment Tepig opened its eyes and its body enveloped in a red aura.

The pig's eyes became stern and the aura became thicker, showing off its red color. "It's Blaze!" Ash recognized the famous Fire-type Ability.

May raised an eyebrow, surprised by Tepig's capability to unleash the ability at such a young stage. The pig smirked at Petilil, frightening the Grass-type and Tepig released a strong Flamethrower.

Petilil cried out in pain as the Flamethrower burned the Grass-type and its surroundings. Tepig cried out angrily as it released the stream of fire, when Petilil finally dropped, the starter smirked happily, overcoming the effects of Stun Spore and putting his cocky enemy in its place.

The pig stopped glowing and ran over to May, the brunette was slightly confused by the pig, it was like some cable inside the starter had snapped and allowed it to unleash an attack more than powerful enough to take down Petilil. It was like an explosion, quick, but devastating.

"Wow…I didn't expect that," Iris stood amazed just like the others, Tepig acted like nothing had happened.

May kneeled down and petted Tepig with a smile, still thinking about Tepig's power, "Tepig, you really showed that Petilil a thing or two, you've earned yourself a good rest," May smiled and returned her happy pig.

The brunette turned the unconscious Petilil and enthusiastically threw her Pokéball, "Go Pokéball!"

The girl's Pokeball easily trapped Petilil inside; Tepig's Flamethrower had obviously left Petilil without any energy to escape from the Pokéball. May walked over to the Pokéball and raised it in the air, "I caught a Petilil!"

"Nice job May!" Ash congratulated May along with the rest of their friends.

"All in a day's work," May giggled, holding her Pokeball proudly.

"Hello is someone there?" a male voice called out, alerting the group.

The teens heard the sound of rustling turned around, much to their surprise; they saw a boy around Ash's age emerge from the bush. He wore a sky blue jacket with a dark blue-collar similar to Ash's jacket and he even wore the same colored pants and shoes as Ash. His eyes were a darker brown though and his hair was raven-like as well, except combed stylishly. The boy even wore a red and white hat, similar in design to Ash's. A shoulder bag hung from the boy's right shoulder, the strap gray and the bag itself, blue.

The brunette boy smiled at them and asked, "Sorry to interrupt, but I was just doing some stuff nearby and I heard some battling going on, I figure you were the ones battling?"

May approached the boy and answered, "Yeah, actually I was catching a wild Pokémon roaming around."

The brown-eyed teen slightly blushed and became embarrassed when he saw May, _she's cute_, the mysterious boy thought. May stepped back a bit, a little alarmed by the blush on his face, but giggled a little.

Ash crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow out of jealousy and got between the pair with Pikachu on his shoulder. The raven-haired teen changed the subject and spoke, "Anyway, we're sorry about the commotion we caused."

The boy in the sky blue jacket smiled and crossed his arms, "It's alright. I wasn't getting much done anyway."

Ash put his guard down and smiled, "By the way, I'm Ash and this is May," the raven-haired teen introduced themselves, holding onto May's hand that moment, which made May smile and gave Ash a teasing look, sensing that the boy felt threatened by this stranger.

The brunette boy grinned at them, acknowledging their names and the fact that they were a couple, _Guess they're a couple, oh well; _the boy shook the thought off his mind. "I'm Iris and this is Axew," Iris got beside the couple and introduced herself and the happy Dragon-type.

"And I'm Cilan," Cilan got beside Iris and introduced himself.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu introduced himself from Ash's shoulder.

"I see, nice to meet you all, I'm Hilbert by the way, I'm from Nuvema Town," Hilbert introduced himself to the gang.

"Nice to meet you Hilbert," the group answered simultaneously.

Hilbert nodded and focused his attention on Ash, May, and Pikachu, "You guys are from outside of Unova right? The Pikachu is a pretty strong clue."

"That's right; me and Pikachu are from Pallet Town in Kanto," Ash informed the brunette.

"And I'm from Petalburg City in Hoenn," May stated her origins.

Hilbert placed his hands in his pockets and nodded, "Kanto and Hoenn, those are some pretty distant places. What brings both of you here?"

Before Ash could answer, May butt in to answer first, making Hilbert chuckle because of the girl's adorable nature. "I'm here to compete in the Grand Festival," May mentioned with a kind tone.

"Really, I have a friend competing in contests too, who knows where they are off right now though," Hilbert mentioned his friend who happened to be a coordinator. "What about you Ash?" Hilbert asked curiously.

Ash made a fist and grinned confidently, "I'm here to compete in the Unova League."

Hilbert raised an eyebrow when he heard Ash say he was here to compete in the Unova League. "Well, those are some tough tournaments to get into, you must have a lot of faith in your skill to aim that high," the brown-eyed teen said.

Ash and May nodded in agreement. "So, mind telling us what you were doing before you heard May battling?" Cilan inquired.

The Nuvema boy grinned and turned to Cilan, "Before we get to that matter, you must not remember do you Cilan? I battled you almost three months ago with my Oshawott, do you remember?"

"Pardon?" Cilan became surprised by the response. The green-haired male tried to recall the most recent challengers before Ash and Trip showed up, the emerald-eyed teen grinned sheepishly and answered, "Sorry, I never had a very good memory regarding challengers."

Hilbert sighed and chuckled, "Oh well. Anyway, I was scouting around, trying to find a Pokémon because for starters, do you have any idea where you are right now?"

Ash and May looked at him with baffled expressions; they then observed their surroundings and May answered, "A forest?"

Hilbert sighed, "Close, but more specifically…"

"It's at the tip of my tongue," Cilan placed his fingers on his chin, trying to determine their location.

Iris looked around and palm faced herself, "Of course, how did I not realize it, we're in Pinwheel Forest!"

"Actually yeah, this is Pinwheel Forest," May read the map on her and Ash's Xtransciever.

"That's right," Hilbert nodded.

"But what does the location have to do with anything?" Ash remained confused.

The brunette turned his back against the group and began to speak, "After I defeated the gym leader of Castelia City, I heard there was a Legendary Pokémon roaming this area; my curiosity brought me here in search of that Legendary Pokémon."

Before anyone could ask him about the Legendary Pokémon, Ash became alarmed when he heard Hilbert say he had just defeated the Castelia Gym Leader. The auburn-eyed teen got in the boy's face and spoke, "You battle gyms too? That's awesome; I already have two badges from the Nacrene and Striaton gyms!"

Ash's antics resembled that of child, almost trampling Hilbert as if he were a celebrity. "Two badges? Not bad Ash, I received two of my badges from those areas too, the other being from Castelia City," Hilbert became interested in Ash's abilities as a trainer, impressed by Ash's feats.

Ash made a fist and smiled confidently, "Why don't we have a battle to see who's stronger?"

Hilbert raised an eyebrow and figured it'd make good practice, "Alright, I don't see why not."

Iris sighed and spoke, "I was going to ask about the Legendary Pokémon before Ash's big mouth got in the way."

"Looks like that's going to have to wait till after the battle," Cilan chuckled.

"Why don't we just enjoy the battle for now, besides Hilbert sounds pretty strong," May stated, curious to see how strong this newfound rival might be.

Hilbert and Ash stepped away from the trees and bushes and stood on the plain dirt path, wide and long enough for a battlefield. May, Iris, and Cilan leaned against the trees to watch.

"Pick any Pokémon of your choosing Ash," Hilbert stated and reached for his Pokeball.

Ash nodded and turned to Pikachu, "Hey pal, mind sitting this one out, I'd like to get Snivy in a real battle since she hasn't been in one in a while."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded up and down.

The black-haired boy thanked his friend and reached for Snivy's Pokéball. Ash held it up high and yelled, "Snivy, let's go!"

"Snivy huh, alright then, Dewott let's battle!" Hilbert released his water starter.

Both starter Pokémon appeared on the field, both displaying arrogant attitudes. Snivy stood proudly in front Dewott while the otter crossed his arms and chuckled at his opponent.

"Hilbert is at a type disadvantage, Ash certainly has a higher chance of winning," Iris smiled confidently.

"That may be true, but we still have to see how strong Hilbert really is, if he really did beat me, then I'm sure he has strategy to defeat any Grass-type with Dewott," Cilan pointed out something very critical.

May smiled at just gazed at Ash and Snivy, "Ash is a strategist too. He'll have some kind of plan in case Hilbert pulls anything clever."

"Never seen that Pokémon, what does the Pokédex have to say about this one," Ash wondered and reached for his Pokédex.

The machine began to dictate info on the Pokémon once Ash activated it, "Dewott, the Discipline Pokémon, and the evolved form of Oshawott. Through rigid training, Dewott uses the double scalchop technique to accomplish its fluid swordsmanship."

"Let's not waste any time Ash, I'm just as excited to see your skills as you are about seeing mine," Hilbert grinned confidently.

The boy put away his Pokédex and turned to Hilbert. Ash nodded and returned the gesture, "I'll show you what we're made of, Snivy, use Leaf Blade!"

"Dewott, dodge Leaf Blade and use Razor Shell!" Hilbert countered.

"Sniiiivy!" Snivy charged in and tried to hit Dewott with Leaf Blade, but the otter easily dodged it.

"Whoa, it's fast," Ash was taken back by Dewott's bullet-like movements.

"Dewooott," the otter smirked and closed in on Snivy with its blue blade.

Ash wasted no time in countering and ordered, "Snivy, use your vines to dodge!"

Snivy took evasive action and launched itself into the air with its vines in the nick of time while Dewott missed its target. "That was a good countermeasure Ash, perhaps this battle will take longer than I thought," Hilbert smirked.

"You have no idea," Ash smirked back.

"They've barely started and I can already tell their powers on equal," Iris watched with amazement.

"This is going to take longer than we thought," Cilan stated.

Ash extended his arm forward and made a command, "Snivy, use Attract!"

Snivy nodded and quickly winked at Dewott while still in the air. Hearts began aiming towards Dewott, but Hilbert remained calm and countered, "Use Protect to shield yourself."

Dewott formed a barrier around itself and the energy hearts dispersed when they came into contact with Dewott's Protect. Snivy landed on the ground and glared at Dewott, who just smirked back.

Ash grinned and prepared to attack again, "Snivy, leap over Dewott with a boost from your vines and follow it up with Leaf Blade!"

Snivy launched itself over Dewott with its vines and prepared to slash the Water-type, but Hilbert retained his cool disposition. "Dewott, blast yourself upward with Water Pulse to dodge and mimic Snivy by using Razor Shell!"

Dewott's face looked down and the otter shot up like a rocket when it used Water Pulse to push itself up. Snivy couldn't reach Dewott in time and missed, but the otter aimed at Snivy with its Razor Shell like a missile.

"Your counters are something else Hilbert, but are they good enough to stop Vine Whip? Snivy, use your vines to grab onto Dewott and slam it into the ground," Ash instructed.

"My counters are good enough to block that Ash, Dewott, counter with Ice Beam!" Hilbert punched his fist into the air.

When Snivy's vines shot at Dewott, the starter unleashed Ice Beam and froze the Grass-type's vines, leaving them immobile. Dewott then got close enough and sent Snivy crashing against the dirt when it slammed it with Razor Shell.

The crash created a small cloud of smoke around Snivy, leaving the snake-like Pokémon hiding in it. "Snivy, use Vine Whip and then use our backup attack if Vine Whip fails!" Ash yelled out.

"Backup attack?" Hilbert raised an eyebrow, but shook it off. "Dewott, dodge it and then use Water Pulse!"

Snivy's vines emerged from the dust and tried to whip Dewott, but the swift otter nimbly dodged the strikes and released a sphere of water at Snivy. However, suddenly a storm of sharp energy leaves burst of the dust and destroyed the Water Pulse.

"Leaf Storm!" Hilbert shouted with surprise when he saw the attack and before either he or Dewott could react, the barrage of energy leaves blasted Dewott against the dirt.

"Yes!" May cheered happily when she saw Dewott get struck down by Leaf Storm. Cilan and Iris also considered the move a clever comeback.

"Didn't see that one coming did ya?" Ash smirked at his opponent.

Hilbert smirked and spoke, "Nope, but I have some surprises too. Dewott, charge in with Razor Shell!"

Dewott smirked and created its blue blade with one of its shells; the otter then began chagrining at Snivy, who was now visible after the dust vanished. Ash extended his arm to the right and prepared to counter, "Snivy, close in with Leaf Blade!"

Snivy also began charging at Dewott with its glowing green tail, but that was exactly what Hilbert wanted Ash to do. "Dewott, move to the side and use Water Pulse!"

"Wha?!" Ash gasped when he heard the command. The next second, Dewott sidestepped and shot a Water Pulse at Snivy, blasting the serpent against the ground.

Snivy's body was trapped throughout the blast and a loud splash could be heard when the snake crashed into the dirt.

"It was a Water-type move right, it couldn't have done too much damage," Iris stated with concern.

"I don't think that was what Hilbert was going for," May clenched her fist when she saw Snivy.

Cilan nodded with May, "He was going for a status change."

Iris turned to Snivy and saw the lizard's eyes, they were star-shaped and when it got up, it wandered the battlefield aimlessly. "Snivy!" Ash cried out with angst.

"The Vine Whip and Leaf Storm combination was a try to beat us Ash, but now you're finished, Snivy is confused and we have the perfect way to end this," Hilbert smirked at his opponent.

"That's what you think, Snivy, snap out of it and try to use Attract!" Ash exclaimed and although Snivy did manage to use Attract, it released the move in the opposite direction of Dewott.

The hearts vanished when they hit a tree trunk. Ash ordered Snivy to use Leaf Blade, Vine Whip, and Leaf Storm repeatedly, but the lizard just kept crashing into trees or tripping.

Hilbert crossed his arms and smiled, "It's been fun Ash, I could tell you were really giving it your all, unfortunately, it wasn't enough, Dewott, let's us Focus Energy."

Ash grinded his teeth and begged Snivy to snap out of it, after years of using trainers use Focus Energy, Ash knew it meant bad news, "Snivy, snap out of it, you have to, quick!"

Dewott flexed its muscles and began glowing blue, the Water-type starter grinned cunningly and glared at the confused Snivy. Hilbert smiled and then made his command, "End this with an Ice Pulse!"

"Ice Pulse?" Ash raised an eyebrow, confused by the command.

"My friend, the coordinator taught me this combination, I hope you like it," Hilbert grinned arrogantly. Dewott formed another Water Pulse and launched it at Water Pulse, but then the otter used Ice Beam to freeze the attack while it aimed toward Snivy.

"No way!" May exclaimed with shock.

"This isn't good for Snivy," Iris's eyes widened when she saw the large ice ball.

Cilan saw the attack and suddenly remembered the combination, "Of course, now I remember Hilbert. He's the trainer who defeated me using a coordinator combination, that's how I lost the battle and how he gained the Trio Badge."

"Snivy, counter it!" Ash made one last attempt to help Snivy snap out of its confusion.

When the serpent heard Ash's words, it finally came back to its senses and saw the impending combination attack. It quickly made its tail glow green and charged at the ice ball, surprising Hilbert.

Ash smiled when it saw Snivy attempt to overpower the Ice Pulse, but unfortunately, the attack proved much too powerful and sent Snivy flying against a tree, knocking the Grass-type out.

"That's that," Hilbert grinned and gave Dewott a smile of approval. Dewott smiled back and Hilbert returned his partner to its Pokéball.

Ash returned Snivy to its ball and smiled warmly at it, "Snivy, you did a great job out there, I know you gave it your all, so you've earned yourself a good rest." The boy turned to Pikachu who looked sad over the defeat, but once he saw Ash's smile, the mouse leaped into his arms and then got on his shoulder.

May also had the same reaction as Pikachu, but when he saw Ash's grin, the sapphire-eyed girl knew Ash didn't take the defeat very heavy and was just happy he got to battle such a skilled opponent. His optimism made her smile and thought, _one defeat just makes us stronger…_

Ash put away Snivy's Pokéball and saw Hilbert walk up to him. "You're a very experienced trainer Ash, I'm glad I got battle someone as skillful as you."

The auburn-eyed teen grinned and replied, "For a beginner Hilbert, you were really impressive too. You're probably one of the strongest trainers I've seen in Unova so far."

"Thanks Ash, it means a lot," Hilbert thanked Ash for the compliment.

"That was a fantastic battle you two, at first I wasn't certain who was going to win, but Hilbert, that last attack jogged my memory and I remember you now!" Cilan complimented the two and informed Hilbert of his recollection.

Hilbert grinned at Cilan, "That's good; it's the move I used to beat you back in Striaton City. It really comes in handy when I try to be unpredictable or if I'm battling a Pokémon with a type advantage over Dewott."

"Where'd you learn such a technique?" Iris asked with curiosity.

The brunette closed his eyes and spoke, "In Nuvema Town, my childhood friend taught it to me before we set out on our respective journeys."

"They must be really good," Ash stated his opinion.

May then spoke, "By the way Hilbert, before the whole battle, you were talking about a Legendary Pokémon, I am curious about that and wondered if you could tell us something about it.

"I'd be happy too," Hilbert responded kindly, no longer blushing when the brunette spoke to him. "You see, there are rumors about a Legendary Pokémon roaming Pinwheel Forest, its name is Virizion, a Grass and Fighting-type Pokémon. Virizion is part of a quartet of Legendary Pokémon called the 'Swords of Justice', and Cobalion, Terrakion, and Keldeo compose the rest of the quartet. I haven't gone after the other three because I'm unaware of their locations, Virizion is the only one with a known location right now and I intend to find it."

"The 'Swords of Justice', why are they called that?" Ash became as curious as May while Cilan and Iris were already familiar with parts of the legend.

Hilbert put his hands in his pockets and smiled, "I'll tell you the story as we walk, do you want to help me find Virizion while I tell it?"

"Yes please!" Iris answered excitedly.

"The tale of the Musketeer Trio and Keldeo makes for a perfect story," Cilan commented.

"We want to find Virizion too!" May responded as well, interested in meeting the Legendary Pokémon.

"Me too!" Ash cheered like a child too, making the others laugh.

Hilbert nodded and began speaking, "A long time ago, there was a war between two human factions. The war took a heavy toll on the Pokémon living at the time of the war and their homes were set ablaze, forests were burned to crisp from the war, but these Pokémon, Virizion, Cobalion, and Terrakion managed to save the resident Pokémon from their horrific fates. Terrakion, the physically strongest of the three made a path to escape, Virizion, with its speed managed to shield them from any dangers, and Cobalion led the Pokémon to safety during the crisis. During the escapade, the trio found a lone Pokémon, Keldeo and legend says they took Keldeo in as one of their own. From then on, the Swords of Justice have remained in isolation, resenting humans till this day and waiting for another crisis where the Pokémon would need them again," Hilbert told them the story, by the time he finished they had walked for an hour trying to find the Pokémon and it was already nightfall.

"They sound like pretty heroic Pokémon," Ash stated.

"That's why I want to meet them, but it's not very easy," Hilbert replied and looked at the moon. "It's nighttime, we have a higher chance of spotting Virizion during this hour because like all other Pokémon, it knows when humans are likely to be around and that's during the day.

"How will we be able to find it?" Cilan asked Hilbert as he and the others followed him.

"Right now, we're going into the most interior part of Pinwheel Forest, Virizion is said to lurk there, but we have to be really quiet. Virizion is able to detect the presence of people if they aren't discreet. Virizion is also the nimblest member of the group, so we have to be careful with our movements, we don't want to alert it," Hilbert instructed and the entire group nodded sternly, not wanting to miss the opportunity of meeting one of Unova's Legendary Pokémon.

During the walk Ash and May began to whisper to each other. "So Ash, you seemed pretty jealous when Hilbert showed up and blushed when he saw me," May giggled with a low tone.

Pikachu sighed when he heard May, he wasn't in the mood to hear about their relationship right now, more concerned about finding Virizion at the moment, and went from Ash's shoulder to Iris's where he spoke with Axew.

Ash gave her a sheepish smile, "I just wasn't sure what to expect, I mean, we just met him and I didn't know what kind of person he was. For all we know, he could've been a flirt like Drew or even a hopeless romantic like Brock."

May bit her lip trying not to laugh, she tried to imagine Brock acting like that toward her, but it was impossible. "Awww Ashy, I think it's cute when you get jealous though," May teased him and squeezed his hand with affection.

Ash turned red and spoke, "It's just…you're incredibly attractive May and I know guys are always eyeing you when we walk through a town or city, you should see the guys who watch you perform, they're practically drooling. Besides, sometimes I feel like you could do better than me."

The brunette raised an eyebrow and then frowned at him, "Don't say that Ash. There's no one out there better for me than you, you're cute, funny, strong, heroic, smart, and loving. You are the complete package and there's nothing more I would ask out of you, you're perfect the way you are." May then placed her head on his shoulder as they walked and pecked his cheek for a moment.

_She really is something else; _Ash thought and kissed her head. "I would have believed you if you didn't mention smart in my description, May," Ash chuckled.

May giggled and responded, "I don't know about academics Ash, but when it comes to battling, you're one of the best, besides they say academics and strategy in battling are the same, so you must be considered a genius if you ever went to school."

"Thanks May," Ash answered warmly, feeling the heat of May's body next to his.

"So guys stare and drool over me," May teased Ash again.

"From top to bottom, sometimes I feel like someone should put all those creeps in a cage so they can learn to respect other people's girlfriends," Ash stated his opinion about the people who eye his lover.

May giggled again, "Well, it can't be helped, there's nothing we can do."

"I knew I shouldn't have dated someone so beautiful," Ash teased May and chuckled.

"Awww," the girl giggled, but then elbowed the boy, making him cringe a bit.

"I love you too May," the boy chuckled while rubbing the area where May elbowed him with his free arm.

"Love you Ash," May smiled and pecked his cheek once more.

All of a sudden, the couple stopped when they that Cilan, Iris, and Hilbert had stopped. "What happened?" Iris asked the brunette boy.

"There's a large wall of trees only a Pokémon smaller than Pikachu could get through, we'll need to cut them down in order to continue, I have a feeling Virizion is just past this wall," Hilbert stated with a low voice.

"But how are we going to cut the wall of trees down?" Cilan asked the boy.

Hilbert smiled and answered, "Easy, go Fraxure!" The Nuvema boy summoned his Dragon-type Pokémon, which made Iris and Axew's eyes shine with admiration.

"It's so powerful looking," Iris clasped her hands together.

"Axew ax," Axew also gazed with admiration.

"That's a strong Fraxure, I wish I could use the Pokédex, but now isn't the time," Ash mumbled to himself whole gazing at Hilbert's other Pokémon.

"Fraxure use Cut on the trees so we can pass," The brown-eyed teen instructed quietly.

Fraxure's claws began to glow and the Dragon-type cut down enough trees for the entire group to pass. The trunks dropped on the ground, but the noise wasn't enough to alert any of the nearby Pokémon.

"Fraxure," Fraxure said, as if saying his task was completed.

"Thanks Fraxure, return," Hilbert whispered and returned Fraxure.

When they got through the destroyed wall of trees, May and Ash felt their Xtransceiver vibrate. "Huh?" the two wondered simultaneously and looked at their devices.

Ash read the words on his Xtransciever, "Out of Area." He became suspicious of what part of the forest they were in now.

"Ash, did you get an 'Out of Area' message on your Xtransceiver?" May asked the boy.

"Yeah I did, guess we must be really deep into the forest now," Ash stated and May nodded in agreement.

After several minutes of walking, a Poison Sting and Energy Ball shot out of the trees. Ash quickly protect May by wrapping himself around her while Cilan also blocked the attacks from Iris and Axew, the two girls and dragon smiling at their protectors kindly while Pikachu blasted off several of the attacks with Thunderbolt.

Hilbert grinded his teeth, "The forest Pokémon don't want us to advance any further, we must be getting close."

"How are we going to advance now though, the wild Pokémon will just keep attacking us," May informed Hilbert, still being protected by Ash from any incoming blasts.

"Simple, we light things up," Hilbert stated. "Pikachu, draw out the Pokémon with Thunderbolt," Hilbert instructed and the mouse nodded.

"Piiikaachu!" the mouse released its most common attack onto the trees and bushes. The Poison Sting and Energy Ball attacks stopped at that point.

All of a sudden, a dozen Petilil and Whirlipede came out of the bushes with furious gazes. "Perfect, now it's my turn," Hilbert smiled and threw his Pokeball.

From it emerged Druddigon, who roared angrily at the forest Pokémon. "A Druddigon," Iris's eyes again glistened with admiration.

"That's one tough looking Pokémon," May stated, taking a peek of the blue dragon.

"Druddigon, we can't waste any time, scare these Pokémon away with Flamethrower," Hilbert ordered, not wanting to waste anymore time finding Virizion, he also assumed the musketeer Pokémon must have detected them by now.

"Druddigooon!" the Dragon-type released a stream of fire that scared off the Pokémon; some were even hit by the attack and knocked out.

Ash and Cilan took their normal stances when they saw that the danger had vanished. "Thank you," Iris and May said at the same time to the two boys.

Hilbert suddenly heard rustling in trees and bushes and spoke, "They've brought reinforcements. This time we have to run quick!" The gang nodded at him and they began running behind him.

The rustling of leaves became louder with every step the running teens took. "Ash, I'm scared, I don't want to do this anymore," May said with a frightened tone, no longer interested in finding Virizion.

"Don't be afraid May, I'm here to protect you if anything happens," Ash responded, giving her an assuring smile.

May smiled at him sweetly and continued running. Pikachu and Druddigon moved next to Hilbert, prepared to fight in case of anything.

All of a sudden a green sword-like projectile shot at the group, but Druddigon countered the attack just in time with Dragon Claw. "Stop!" Hilbert ordered the rest of the group and they stopped under a fine pasture of grass, with the moon shining over it.

"What's going on Hilbert," Ash questioned, getting a bad feeling about their situation.

"They didn't bring reinforcements, those Pokémon fled, but something much more powerful is going to challenge us now," Hilbert grinded his teeth in fear.

Suddenly, another much more powerful green projectile shot out, this time Pikachu and Druddigon had to use Thunderbolt and Flamethrower to counter it. When the smoke from the clash vanished, a majestic, green deer-like Pokémon stood before them. It had horns with dull points at the ends and it had a pink-tipped leaf on each side of its neck. On its back there were pointed ends of fur ending in a medium-long tail. Its legs resembled pointed knee-high boots and had pointed hooves as well as pink highlights on the joints of its knees.

"Virizion…" Hilbert's eyes widened with astonishment.

"That's Virizion…" Ash became amazed by the Legendary Pokémon's appearance.

"It's beautiful…" May admired the appearance of the Pokémon.

"I don't know what to say," Iris was left awestruck.

"It's beyond words," Cilan watched with amazement.

"Pika…" Pikachu didn't know how to present itself before the elegant Pokémon.

"Druddigon," the dragon was the only one who glared at the Legendary Pokémon.

_Humans, what brings you to my domain_, Virizion spoke telepathically, giving them a stern look.

"Virizion, we just had to meet you," Hilbert continued to admire the Pokémon while the others became further amazed by its ability to speak telepathically.

Virizion glared at the teens and spoke, _you are not welcomed here! _The Grassland Pokémon then unleashed an Energy Ball, but Pikachu sent it back with difficulty, using Iron Tail. Virizion easily destroyed the attack with the sword that formed on its head.

"Virizion, why are you trying to attack us?" Ash spat at the Pokémon, noticing the hostile nature in Virizion's attitude.

_I sense bad intentions in this area, the presence of humans; you're malicious activities end here! _Virizion used Magical Leaf on the group, but Druddigon turned it into ashes with Flamethrower.

"But we're not trying to do anything to hurt the Pokémon," Iris informed the Legendary Pokémon.

_Silence!_ Virizion exclaimed with her feminine voice.

"Hilbert, we have no choice, but to battle it, maybe if we can beat, it'll stop attacking us," Ash got beside Hilbert.

"I don't like it, but I don't see any other choice," Hilbert responded.

"I'll fight too," May got beside Ash with a Pokeball in her hand.

"Alright," Ash smiled.

May grinned and called out her Pokémon, "Blaziken, you're up!"

"Blaziken!" Blaziken cried out when it got on the field, it quickly smirked at Virizion when he saw her, recognizing the immense power Virizion had and knowing he'd get a good battle out of it.

"Iris, Cilan, make sure no one else interrupts," Ash instructed his two friends, who nodded.

Blaziken, Pikachu, and Druddigon stood together in front of Virizion, ready to battle the Pokémon of legend. Virizion smirked, _Try if you must, you will not win. _

"Blaziken, use Blaze Kick!" May ordered.

"Druddigon, use Flamethrower!" Hilbert commanded.

"Pikachu, get in the Flamethrower with Volt Tackle for a boost!" Ash instructed.

Virizion didn't move an inch when the triple attack came her way. All of a sudden, a bright red energy shield appeared in front of her and enveloped the Pokémon, protecting her from all attacks.

The 5 teens and their Pokémon became amazed by the amount of power Virizion demonstrated that minute, having enough power to stop some their Pokémon's most powerful attacks. _My turn, _Virizion said and multiplied using Double Team. There were a dozen Virizion that encircled the entire pasture, surrounding the whole gang.

Virizion then released a barrage of Scared Sword at its opponents. "Pikachu, use Counter Shield with maximum power!" Ash ordered.

"Blaziken, you do the same," May instructed.

"Counter Shield?" Hilbert became confused by the command and ordered Druddigon to use Dragon Claw to fight back.

Druddigon only managed to counter few before it became bashed by more Scared Sword. However, Pikachu and Blaziken stood on opposite ends of the dragon and used Thunderbolt and Fire Spin respectively to block off the Sacred Sword.

Ash and May's Pokémon used as much power possible to fight off the barrage of Sacred Sword, but Virizion eventually used more power and overpowered the pair, sending the trio of Pokémon crashing against different trees.

_Not bad, but you'll need more than that_, Virizion stated and prepared to attack Blaziken, but suddenly, a double Shadow Ball shot out of the shadows.

Virizion barely managed to dodge it and inspected the area, trying to spot her attackers. "What's going on now," Ash grinded his teeth, not ready for more guests.

"Darn kids, always getting the way of our plans, wherever we go, you almost always seem to be there," a woman came out with an Espeon, she wore a black coat and had blonde hair, it was Annie of the Majestic 12 and the woman partly responsible for the disaster in Altomare all those years ago.

"You children tend to linger like a bad odor," another woman came out of hiding with a Drapion, she also wore a black coat and had short, silver hair, it was Pokémon Hunter J with her, now member of the Majestic 12.

"You're telling us that we linger like a bad odor?" Iris spat at the woman.

"You should look at yourselves before calling other people that!" May yelled at the females.

"Who are these women," Hilbert frowned, sensing the bad nature in their eyes.

"They are part of an evil organization known as the 'Majestic 12', they are just another group of crooks who go around stealing stuff and harming others," Ash told Hilbert about the people before them.

_So you're the evil I was sensing this whole time, I was warned about your kind, what do you wish from the forest and I_, Virizion spoke to the female pair.

"Annie, proceed with the plan," Hunter J commanded.

"Espeon, use Psychic to trap that entire group of meddlesome trainers," Annie glared at Ash and his friends. Espeon's eyes began to glow blue as did the teens and Pokémon.

"I can't move," Cilan tried to move his arms.

"I can't either," May tried to turn her head, but was unable to.

"She's got us trapped in Espeon's Psychic," Iris stated, feeling like she was tied against a wall.

"We are here to battle and capture you, Virizion," Hunter J chuckled and glared evilly at the Legendary Pokémon.

_You'll try, but fail,_ Virizion glared at her opponent.

"Cross Poison!" J ordered. Drapion screeched when its claws began to glow purple, the Poison-type then crossed the claws and formed an "X" that launched at Virizion.

Virizion used Double Team and easily avoided the Cross Poison; the attack only destroyed a copy. Virizion unleashed a barrage of Scared Sword like before, but J remained cool, "Drapion, use Pin Missile to destroy the projectiles and eliminate the Virizion copies!"

Drapion screeched again and released multiple projectiles that canceled out Sacred Sword and destroy the many copies of Virizion. The real one nimbly dodged Drapion's Pin Missile and used Hyper Beam.

"Counter with a Hyper Beam," J extended her arm forward and the two powerful attacks canceled each other out.

_You're stronger than I thought, I put a lot of power into that Hyper Beam_, Virizion commented, panting for air.

"We are the Majestic 12, no weaklings are accepted. Now feel the wrath of my power, Drapion, use Ice Fang!" J exclaimed with pride.

Drapion began to charge at Virizion with cold fans, but Virizion charged forward as well and a blade emerged from its head. The two attacks collided and Virizion sent Drapion flying, the attack was also a critical hit.

J grinded her teeth in frustration and made another command, "Drapion, Pin Missile again!" Drapion got up and released the projectiles at Virizion, but Legendary Pokémon easily countered it with Quick Guard.

Virizion smirked at Hunter J, who glared at Drapion. Virizion turned its attention to Drapion's location, but the Poison/Dark-type was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Drapion emerged behind the Grassland Pokémon and lifted her with its claws and bit the Grass-type with Ice Fang.

_Cold…weakness…aaaahhhh!_ Virizion cried in pain as its horns turned into ice. Hunter J chuckled and made another command, "Now, launch her and use Cross Poison again!"

Drapion nodded and sent Virizion flying, the Poison-type then launched a purple "X" at the Legendary Pokémon, which sent her crashing against a tree trunk and breaking it.

"That's two super-effective moves in a row, Virizion can't handle Drapion for much longer," Hilbert grinded his teeth, watching Virizion get up only to be brought back down by Drapion.

Ash felt anger boiling in his blood as he watched J and Drapion ruthlessly toss Virizion everywhere, Ash has met many villains in his journey, but J was a whole different evil, she was the type of person Ash had almost no pity for and was determined to stop her madness.

Drapion bit Virizion again and tossed her into multiple trees, her screams of pain being heard through the Kanto boy's mind. His anger reached a peak and Ash snapped, "Pikachu, use Thunder on Espeon to break free, full power now!"

Pikachu heard Ash and felt Ash's anger pass on to him, the mouse became furious with every hit Virizion took and placed that anger into the Thunder the Electric-type prepared to release.

"Silly boy, Espeon's Psychic will not allow you to break free so easy," Annie giggled, smiling coldly at the teens.

"Pikachu let her and Espeon have it!" May cried out and Pikachu released a powerful Thunder without warning.

The ray of lightning of illuminated the night and shot at the clouds. The attack stopped J and Virizion's battle while Annie watched in fear as Pikachu's attack launched at Espeon, making the Psychic-type cry in pain, the same pain Virizion was feeling.

Annie's Espeon dropped to the ground and the gang broke free. Annie backed away from the teens while Ash stared at J menacingly, "You're going to pay for the harm you've caused tonight."

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Ash ordered

"Blaziken, use Overheat!" May instructed.

"Druddigon, use Focus Blast!" Hilbert commanded.

"Full power!" the trio exclaimed.

The three Pokémon used their most powerful attacks to stop Drapion and J. Pikachu became enveloped in electricity and charged at full power, Blaziken released its most powerful Overheat, and Druddigon unleashed the largest Focus Blast Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan had ever seen.

"Axew, let's help out with Dragon Rage!" Iris demanded.

"Pansage, let's help too by using Solarbeam!" Cilan called out his green monkey.

Axew and Pansage quickly got on the battlefield and charged up their attacks to the fullest, luckily, Axew executed Dragon Rage correctly and Pansage charged up Solarbeam just in time. The 5 super attacks launched at Drapion and J while Virizion watched in admiration.

"Counter with Hyper Beam!" J commanded and Drapion released the most powerful attack it knew.

The five attacks clashed with Hyper Beam, but not even the combination of 5 was enough to overpower Hyper Beam, it merely led to a power struggle. "No way, how is it able to fight off so much power?" Ash cried out, grinding his teeth in frustration.

"This is the power of the Majestic 12!" Hunter J shouted and Drapion put more power into Hyper Beam, slightly overpowering the combination of 5.

Virizion got up and groaned in pain, the Legendary Pokémon took Ash's side, surprising the teens and J. _Maybe this will help, _Virizion said and released a Hyper Beam to help the teens. This time, the addition of Hyper Beam quickly pushed Drapion's Hyper Beam back and caused an explosion in the zone, the light surpassing the height of the trees.

When the dust cleared, Drapion looked badly beaten and the surrounding area was destroyed by the power struggle. Hunter J and Annie saw that both their Pokémon had been knocked out and glared at the enemy.

"This isn't over children; we'll become even more powerful than life itself!" Hunter J spat at them and launched a large Aura Sphere with Annie.

None of the Pokémon had enough power to counter, except for Virizion who got between the Double Aura Sphere and the teens; she then used Scared Sword to cancel out the Aura Sphere.

The Grassland Pokémon saw J and Annie returning their Pokémon, and then opening a portal and charged at her with her blade, _No you won't get away, justice must be executed!_

Hunter J smirked at Virizion and escaped with Annie through the portal. Leaving the teens and the Pokémon behind, "That was the toughest battle of my life," Hilbert said and wiped the dirt off himself.

"They'll be back, they always do," Ash stated, wiping the dirt off his face.

"The question is, how long this will go on before they're stopped," May wiped off the dirt from her clothes.

"They're almost invincible," Iris wiped dirt off Axew.

"More members just keeping appearing all over the region," Cilan stated with anxiety in his voice.

_A great evil looms over the Unova region, if this isn't stopped the region and even the world will be a tragic fate. These people have to be stopped, but you children must stay away from this sort of evil in the best way possible, the ones strong enough to handle these sinners are the legends of Unova, _Virizion spoke to the group.

"Virizion, what are you saying, we can't just let them get away with their crimes," Ash frowned at the Grassland Pokémon.

_I hadn't expected such a threat today, it is a dark evil that has been expelled for millennia, but now it's back. They won't accomplish whatever they wish to do because the guardians of this region will make sure there is no aggressive expansion, it is the duty of the Swords of Justice to protect Unova and the world if necessary at all costs, please children, stay out of conflicts that are out of your control, today you have shown great skill and if you are never needed, you will be summoned by us, till that day, continue with your journeys, this a battle between justice and evil, so please stay out of it, _Virizion begged the children to stay out of trouble's way.

"But…" May was about to speak, but got interrupted by the musketeer.

_No buts, this is farewell for now, may we meet again in the future, _Virizion looked at the teens and Pokémon, and then she smiled and ran off into the darkness. The Grass-type vanished within seconds thanks to its abnormal speed.

The teens were left wondering if they should obey Virizion's orders or continue to play heroes. In the end, Hilbert spoke, "Virizion is right, this is something we have zero control of, it is best if we let this conflict be resolved by superior powers."

Ash was uncertain about how to respond, but then gulped and looked at Hilbert, "If that's the case, then I hope they put all those criminals behind bars soon, let them be taken care of by the Elite Four, Gym Leaders, or even Legendary Pokémon if that needs to happen."

Hilbert nodded and the others nodded in agreement with Ash. "I may not have been able to fully prove myself to Virizion, or even catch it, but I'm glad I met it and I look forward to meeting you guys again soon, Ash, Iris, May, Cilan, Pikachu, and Axew."

"You're leaving now, its night and you must be hungry," May said, trying to convince Hilbert to stay.

"Nah, I've always liked traveling at night and I'm not very hungry right. There are gyms to battle, training to get done, and Pokémon to capture," Hilbert replied, getting on Druddigon's back and prepared to take flight.

Ash smiled confidently and spoke, "Well, if that's the case then I looked forward to battling again too, and next time I'll win!"

"We'll see about that," Hilbert smirked at Ash and began to hover above the ground.

When Druddigon was above the forest level, Hilbert spoke to his new friends once more, "See you guys soon ok, goodbye!" Hilbert waved goodbye and so did Ash and the others. Hilbert and Druddigon then flew off, waving goodbye until they disappeared in the darkness of the night.

"Hilbert is one fascinating character, he'll be one difficult opponent to defeat in the Unova League, Ash," Cilan pointed out.

Ash nodded, "I know, but I'll be ready for him, and for Trip, and anyone else who I'll battle against from here till the day I beat the Unova League."

"Well, we'll focus on that later, right now it's nighttime and I think we're all pretty hungry," Iris stated, her stomach grumbling and suddenly, so did everyone's, making them all laugh.

May smiled at Ash and her friends, "Then let's get to work, we'll get logs, build the tents and setup our campsite, care to help me Ash," the brunette winked at him.

Ash winked back at her, "You bet. I'm pretty cold and hungry."

"Then let's get going!" May cheered and began giggling.

Ash and May rushed around the zone for wood, while the Pokémon set up the tents and Cilan and Iris got to do some cooking, the friends forgetting about their latest troubles and enjoying the friendship, peace, and love they had for the rest of the night.

**Hope you enjoyed it! What'd you guys think of Hilbert and Virizion, or the battle against Annie and Hunter J? What future is in store for the gang, Unova, or even the world, Virizion seemed pretty serious when she mentioned an evil looming over all of them. C'mon guys, keep the reviews coming, I love feedback because it tells me everything I'm doing right or wrong, I guess my inspiration comes from what you guys say, remember to keep the reviews coming. Chapter 16 should be up tomorrow or Tuesday, depending how busy I'm, well till then guys, see ya!**


	16. Burgh the Triple Battler

Chapter 16: Blackbird

May let out a sigh and spoke with a sad voice, "We're lost and we're never going to get out of this forest."

"Don't say that May, we may have been walking the whole morning, but we'll get out of Pinwheel," Ash tried to cheer up the brunette.

"I just wish Hilbert could have given us directions before he flew off, not even Xtransceiver is able to pinpoint our exact location, it just says we're in Pinwheel Forest," May told the raven-haired teen.

Cilan chuckled and talked, "I'm sure we'll find a way out soon enough."

"How?" the sapphire-eyed girl looked at him.

"By climbing that tree!" Iris answered and pointed at a tree much taller than all other trees around Pinwheel Forest. "If we climb that tree, we might get a good view of the entire forest and even find a way out," Iris explained how they could determine their location and get out.

"Good thinking Iris," Cilan complimented the purple-haired girl, who smiled at him and nodded. The Unova girl rushed up to the tree and began climbing it like a monkey.

"Hey wait, I want to climb and help too," Ash stated and ran to climb up the tree, surprising the others. Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder and watched the auburn-eyed boy try to climb.

Iris sighed and frowned at him, "Honestly Ash, you're such a kid. Only one person is needed for this job and besides, I climb trees better than you do."

Ash frowned back at her and continued climbing, "Oh yeah, catch me reach the top first." The messy-haired teen pulled himself up with the tree branches, but he was having a harder time getting to the top than Iris.

When Ash pulled himself up again, he became surprised when he saw a human-size cocoon hanging from the tree branch next to him. "I've never seen a cocoon that large before," Ash rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, wondering what creature was inside it.

The black-haired poke the cocoon and noticed it felt more like cotton than organic material. Suddenly, a man with large, brown curly hair popped out of the cocoon, "Yes?" the man asked, confused when he saw Ash.

Ash's eyes widened with shock and became startled by the man; the boy lost his grip of the tree branch and began falling. The boy shouted with fear as he dropped to the ground and landed on his behind hard on the floor.

The boy held back a few tears and rubbed the bottom half of his body, "That hurt a bit."

When Iris and the others saw Ash, they couldn't help, but laugh, even May who covered her face and began giggling. Ash sighed, feeling embarrassed over what just happened. Iris dropped to the ground on her feet and walked over to him, "Ash, are you ok?" the Dragon user asked, trying not to laugh.

"My sincerest apologies for startling you, young man. Are you alright?" the stranger dropped from the tree as well and apologized for scaring Ash.

Ash stood up and smiled at the man, "It's ok. I'm fine anyway."

"Glad to hear it," the man grinned at Ash.

"By the way, I'm Ash, from the Kanto Region," Ash introduced himself to the man dressed in almost entirely green clothing.

"I'm Iris, from the Village of the Dragons," Iris introduced herself while standing beside Ash.

"I'm May, from the Hoenn Region," May approached the man with Ash.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu greeted Burgh from May's shoulders.

"And I'm Cilan, one of the Striaton Gym Leaders and I know who you are," Cilan introduced himself while stating something outside the topic after.

The man nodded at Cilan and spoke, "Nice to meet you all, I'm Burgh, a Bug-type trainer and artist, I also happen to be the Castelia Gym Leader."

"The Castelia Gym Leader!" Ash, Iris, and May screamed in surprise while Cilan nodded, having known this prior to what Burgh just said.

"What's a Gym Leader doing out in the forest," May asked the curly-haired male.

Burgh chuckled and spoke, "I came out to Pinwheel for some inspiration so I can paint my next work of art. After several hours after scouting, I ran into a Sewaddle, who I saw as the perfect candidate for my next painting, but after following it for some minutes, I lost track of it and have been trying to camouflage with the environment in an attempt to find it."

"So you're working on your next piece of art, may I say that you sir, are a master of the modern art and I'm a big fan of you artwork, no one in Unova is able to compete with such mastery," Cilan got in front of the gang and began to praise the gym leader, his eyes shimmering with admiration for the artist and Gym Leader.

"Why thank you Cilan, it means a lot," Burgh grinned at his fan.

Ash then got beside Cilan and interrupted, "Excuse me Burgh, but I was wondering if I could have a battle with you. You see, I was just on my way to Castelia City to battle you."

"Battle huh?" Burgh raised an eyebrow and rubbed his chin. "Ash, this wouldn't count as an official match, so even if you win, you wouldn't receive a badge from me," Burgh informed the auburn-eyed teen.

Ash grinned confidently, "That doesn't matter, I'll just think of it as a preview to the real battle."

Burgh smiled at Ash's sign of enthusiasm and nodded, "Very well then Ash, but it let's make things more interesting by making this a Triple Battle!"

"Triple Battle?" May and Pikachu raised their eyebrows in question.

Ash gave Burgh a gaze of confusion while Iris and Cilan decided to let Burgh explain. Burgh chuckled again and responded to their confusion, "You see, a Triple Battle is battle style similar to Double Battle. The only difference is you're battling with 3 Pokémon instead of two. The same rules apply for a Triple Battle as that of a Double Battle. It's a very popular battle style here in Unova; it's even spreading to other regions around the world."

"So you battle with three Pokémon," Ash muttered to himself and then looked at Burgh with a cocky grin, "You're on!"

"That's the spirit," Burgh grinned and they immediately got into battle positions on the dirt path.

"Ash's battling spirit has been higher since he defeated Lenora, he must be trying to get as much training as possible," Iris mentioned regarding Ash's battle spirit.

"Can you blame him, Pokémon battling is fun and it helps you become stronger," May smiled as she, Cilan, Pikachu, Axew and Iris sat on a log.

Burgh put his hands on his hips and grinned, "Choose the three Pokémon you'll be using Ash."

"I got it covered," Ash smirked and reached for three Pokeballs, "Let's go Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy!"

"Those are good choices, Ash has a varied team for this battle so Burgh will have a difficult time trying to put all 3 of them down because of their different elements," Cilan complimented Ash's choice of Pokémon.

"Tepig!" Tepig got on the battlefield and huffed with determination.

"Snivy," Snivy gave Burgh an arrogant gaze.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott crossed its arms and grinned confidently.

"Interesting choices Ash, but now witness my artistic Pokémon, Leavanny, Dwebble, Whirlipede, let's do battle," Burgh summoned his three Bug-type Pokémon onto the field.

"Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokémon and the evolved form of Venipede, Whirlipede can spin its hard shelled body like a tire to smash into opponents," May clicked a button the side of the Pokédex and Leavanny appeared, "Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokémon and Sewaddle's final evolutionary form. Using sticky threads that come from its mouth, it makes clothes for Sewaddle by sewing leaves together."

The brunette put away her Pokédex and commented, "Sounds like some strong Pokémon."

"Ready when you are Burgh," Ash grinned.

Burgh chuckled and spoke, "Don't mind if I do, Leavanny, tie those three together with String Shot, Dwebble, you use Rock Wrecker once they are tied together and Whirlipede, use Steamroller if they retaliate!"

"Lea…" the Nurturing Pokémon released a string of web to tie around the starter trio.

The sticky thread tied Ash's Pokémon together, but Ash quickly made a command, "Oshawott, use Razor Shell to cut that string!"

Oshawott reached for its scalchop and easily cut the string, but Dwebble had already unleashed a large boulder at them. Ash grinned and made his next order, "Snivy, use Leaf Blade to counter Rock Wrecker!"

Snivy charged at the boulder and smashed it into tiny pieces with Leaf Blade, but suddenly, Whirlipede began charging at them like a lose tire. "Tepig, use Flame Charge to fight against Steamroller!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"Teeepig!" Tepig cried out and charged at full speed, fire enveloped it. The Fire-type clashed with Whirlipede and sent the Curlipede Pokémon flying against the ground.

Burgh raised his eyebrow, but then smiled, "Well done Ash, you really do have some fight in you. I didn't expect you to counter all my moves with such ease."

Ash grinned and spoke, "Now it's my turn, Tepig, use Ember on Whirlipede, Snivy use Leaf Blade on Dwebble, and Oshawott, use Water Gun on Leavanny!"

Burgh chuckled and made a command, "Defensive positions." With just that command, Dwebble and Leavanny used Protect while Whirlipede used Iron Defense. When the starters' attacks hit, they are easily countered by the defensive moves.

Ash grinded his teeth, "Didn't expect that to happen."

"Of course you didn't, Dwebble, use Dig and pick a target of your preference, Leavanny you will know what to do when Dwebble bursts out of the ground," Burgh smiled.

"This guy doesn't give off a clue of his next moves does he," May crossed her arms in frustration.

"That's what makes him a Gym Leader," Iris watched the battle attentively.

"A target of you preference," Ash mumbled, _if Burgh and Dwebble are smart, they are probably going to target Tepig since Dig has an advantage over Fire-types, alright I know his plan! _Ash thought in his mind and made his command, "Tepig stay alert, Dwebble is likely to come after you! Oshawott, use Aqua Jet on Whirlipede and Snivy go for a Leaf Storm on Leavanny!"

"Rash mistakes Ash, Leavanny counter with Leaf Storm and Whirlipede use our Iron Defense technique," Burgh spread his arms out.

Ash's eyes widened when Leavanny countered Snivy's Leaf Storm with a Leaf Storm of its own. The barrage of energy leaves left the two Grass-types in a draw. Meanwhile, Oshawott failed to cause major damage on Whirlipede because the Bug-type's Iron Defense left it in a stiff position, but something occurred with its body, it began to glow a yellow color.

"What's going on?" Ash wondered while Oshawott stood in front of Whirlipede with confusion.

All of a sudden, May's eyes widened and she along with Cilan and Iris realized what was going on at the same time. "Ash, Whirlipede is about to use Solarbeam!" the sapphire-eyed girl cried out.

"Solarbeam?" Ash looked at May and then at Oshawott, but before they could react, it was too late.

Whirlipede released a Solarbeam that sent Oshawott flying against the ground. Burgh chuckled and spoke, "Now Leavanny!"

"What?" Ash turned to Burgh and then saw Dwebble pop out of the floor. Leavanny used String Shot on Snivy to immobilize the snake and then Dwebble released a large energy attack shaped like an "X".

"It used X-Scissor!" Cilan gasped.

The attack sent Snivy flying against a tree. Ash looked at Oshawott and Snivy and saw their swirl eyes. The auburn-eyed teen grinded his teeth, _How could I forget that Snivy is quick against Bug-types and how did I not realize Solarbeam was the attack Whirlipede was charging up_. Ash returned his starters to their Pokéballs and thanked them for their efforts, but the battle wasn't over.

Burgh crossed his arms and smiled, "Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?"

"It's the last time I ever make that mistake in my life," Ash frowned at Burgh.

Burgh chuckled and responded, "Then let us continue."

"Tepig, use Tackle on Leavanny!" Ash instructed.

"Whirlipede, stop Tepig with Steamroller and Dwebble, you use Rocker Wrecker as well!" Burgh demanded.

Tepig saw the incoming attacks and was ordered to dodge. The pig nimbly dodged Steamroller and jumped over Dwebble's boulder. Burgh smiled and began to speak, "Looks like I underestimated Tepig's speed, but here's where I get serious, Leavanny use Hyper Beam!"

"Dodge one more time Tepig and hit Leavanny with Flame Charge!" Ash ordered.

"Tepiiiig!" Tepig charged at Hyper Beam and barely managed to dodge the beam, but sidestepped and then charged at full speed towards Leavanny. Tepig's high speed didn't allow Burgh to react in time Leavanny was left vulnerable to the attack. Tepig shot at Leavanny like a bullet of fire and sent the Nurturing Pokémon crashing against the floor, leaving it unconscious.

"Way to go Tepig!" Ash made a fist pump.

Burgh returned Leavanny and grinned, "Impressive, now I'm down to two."

"I didn't expect Tepig to dodge so many attacks, looks like the training did more effect than we thought," Cilan crossed his arms with a satisfied gaze.

"Way to go Ash," May smiled happily.

"Now finish it!" Iris declared.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu also encouraged his friend to keep going.

"Dwebble Dig, Whirlipede, use Poison Sting!" Burgh extended his arm forward.

"Tepig, stay alert and use Ember to counter!" Ash commanded. Tepig nodded and canceled out Poison Sting with Ember, suddenly, Dwebble burst out, but Tepig easily dodged the attack.

"Now use Ember on Dwebble and then charge at Whirlipede with Flame Charge," Ash extended his arm to the left.

Burgh smiled, "Moving around the place won't give you an advantage, Dwebble, use Protect and Whirlipede use Solarbeam at full power!"

Tepig released Ember, but Dwebble easily blocked, however, the pig now began charging at Whirlipede with full blaze. Whirlipede began charging Solarbeam as Tepig drew closer and when Tepig got close enough; the Poison-type released its attack.

"Sidestep and finish the charge!" Ash pumped his fist into the air.

Tepig agilely avoided Solarbeam easier than Hyper Beam and sent Whirlipede crashing against a tree with Flame Charge. The Curlipede Pokémon landed unconsciously while Ash's friends cheered for him yet again.

Burgh calmly returned Whirlipede and spoke, "Amazing, you've managed to defeat two of my Pokémon with just one, but the definite winner will be decided now here and…"

Suddenly, Burgh stopped talking and heard a rustling in the bushes. Ash and the others wondered why he had stopped and turned to the bush. Out of it emerged a Sewaddle and Burgh's eyes began glisten, "It's Sewaddle, the Pokémon who will symbolize my next painting!"

"Burgh, aren't we going to finish our battle?" Ash scratched the back of his head in confusion.

Burgh returned Dwebble much to everyone's surprise, "I'm sorry Ash, but I value art more than battling, we will have to continue this some other time, right now I need that Sewaddle. Don't get me wrong, you are a fantastic trainer and I wish we could finish this battle, but there's a time and place for everything."

Ash sighed in disappointment, but then smiled; knowing his battle with Burgh would have to wait till they get to Castelia City. "Alright Burgh, I understand, but next time the definite winner will be declared," the boy made a fist and grinned confidently.

"Thank you Ash, now do you kids wish to help me go after Sewaddle?" Burgh gazed at Ash's other friends as well.

"Sure," May smiled delightfully.

Burgh nodded and turned to the fleeing Sewaddle, "Quick, we have to run; it knows we're after it."

They all nodded in agreement and ran after the fleeing Sewaddle, who proved to be pretty fast. Ash ran with Tepig still beside him and spoke to Burgh, "We're not going to catch up at this rate."

"Then…what do you…suggest we do?" Burgh panted as he ran after the clever Sewaddle.

"There's only one thing we can do, Tepig, use Ember!" Ash commanded.

The others' eyes widened when Tepig released the Fire-type attack at Sewaddle, who narrowly dodged it, but became infuriated with Ash and glared back at the trainer.

"Looks like it stopped," Cilan mentioned as Sewaddle stood there in an angry disposition.

Sewaddle then leaped into a bush, "Or it plans to hide," Iris added.

As Ash ran to catch up with Bug-type, a String Shot shot out from one of the bushes, making Ash trip, his face hitting the ground.

"Ouch…" the boy stated, still lying on the ground face forward.

Sewaddle came out of the bush and laughed at Ash mockingly while the others ran up to the boy. "Ash, are you ok?" May got next to him and kneeled down.

Ash got up and sat on the floor, rubbing his face, "I'm alright May, thanks," the teen smiled and May nodded.

"There there Sewaddle, no need to be angry," Burgh let the Bug-type climb his arm and onto his shoulder.

"Why did Sewaddle make me fall?" Ash asked, noticing the glare in Sewaddle's eyes when it looked at Ash.

"Maybe because you attacked it," Iris rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"It's so cute, it's adorable, but crafty little Pokémon," Cilan petted the Grass-type.

May, Iris, and Pikachu also petted the small Pokémon, which Sewaddle received warmly. Ash got up and tried to pet it too, "I'm sorry for attacking you like that Sewaddle."

Sewaddle frowned at Ash and used String Shot, wrapping Ash's face in web and making the others giggle. Ash sighed and pulled the web off his face.

"Why don't we have some lunch, everyone could use a break," Cilan recommended and they all nodded.

* * *

**A little over half an hour later…**

Everyone sat at the picnic table, eating Cilan's fruit salad. Burgh ate a spoonful of fruit and complimented Cilan, "This is exceptional cooking Cilan. You could become a cook for a living."

"That's mighty kind of you, Burgh," Cilan received the praise warmly.

"It's true Cilan, I don't know anyone who cooks better than you in Unova," Iris munched on her food.

"Please, you're too much," Cilan smiled sheepishly and then May, Ash, Pikachu, Axew, and even Sewaddle praised Cilan.

"C'mon Sewaddle, I said I'm sorry," Ash tried to pet Sewaddle, but the Bug-type threatened to use String Shot on the boy.

"Still hasn't taken a liking to you huh?" May spoke to her boyfriend about Sewaddle.

Ash sighed and answered, "No."

May picked up Sewaddle from the table and began cradling it like a baby, "You should probably try talking to it first before petting it, talking is always the best method to get others to open to you."

Ash smiled at the sight of May cradling Sewaddle like a baby, it was a sweet scene Ash couldn't stop staring at. Sewaddle appeared extremely comfortable in May's arms, the Sewaddle pressed itself against May's chest for warmth and everyone admired the moment with Ash. The Pallet boy mumbled, "She's a natural born mother."

"You know, I have Sewaddle with us, but suddenly I feel like Sewaddle alone isn't enough to inspire my painting," Burgh sighed in frustration, implying that something was missing.

"What could help you get inspired Burgh?" Cilan questioned the older Gym Leader.

"That's the problem, I don't know," Burgh signed again and looked at Sewaddle, who was still in May's arms.

All of a sudden, a Pokémon flew out of nowhere and snatched the little Bug-type from May's arms. "What was that?" Iris asked.

"A Mandibuzz!" Cilan pointed into the air and they spotted a vulture-like Pokémon carrying Sewaddle in its claws.

"It's going to try to eat it!" May yelled with fear, watching Mandibuzz fly off with Sewaddle fidgeting in its claws as an attempt to break free.

"No one is eating anyone on my watch," Ash grinded his teeth and jetted off with Pikachu, leaving the others behind.

"Let's go too," May told the others and the group nodded. May led the gang as they tried to catch up with Ash, who had already been lost in the distance.

In a deeper part of the forest, Ash ran with Pikachu as fast as possible to keep up with Mandibuzz. "Mandibuzz, let go of Sewaddle!" Ash shouted, grinding his teeth in frustration.

Mandibuzz gazed at Ash and smirked. Then it cried out in defiance. Ash glared at the Flying-type and suddenly two smaller birds came out of nowhere, they had some resemblance to Mandibuzz, but they were egg-shaped and smaller.

"Who's that Pokémon?" Ash reached for his Pokédex.

"Vullaby, the Diapered Pokémon and the preevolved form of Mandibuzz, Vullaby's small wings keep it from flying. It tends to chase Pokémon weaker than itself," the robotic voice stated.

Ash put away his Pokédex and stared at the two birds in front of them. He grinned cunningly and spoke, "I see, so you think we're weak huh? Let's show them Pikachu," Ash turned his pal.

"Pika," Pikachu smirked and looked at his opponents.

The pair of Vullaby released a barrage of saw-like energy blades at Pikachu. Ash then made his command, "Pikachu, dodge the Air Slash and use Quick Attack on one of them!"

"Pi!" the mouse nodded and easily avoided the Flying-type attacks and bashed against one of the small birds, who fly against the ground. The other Vullaby used Faint Attack; it flew up to Pikachu and got on its right side.

Pikachu tried to use Quick Attack on the bird, but it instantly disappeared and then appeared on Pikachu's left, bashing the mouse and sending it flying. The mouse gained its composure and landed safely on the ground. The two Vullaby laughed deviously as they prepared to attack Pikachu.

Ash saw Mandibuzz almost getting out of sight and knew he'd had to speed things up. The boy frowned and made his final command, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the pair of Vullaby!"

The Vullaby used Air Slash, but Pikachu easily canceled out the attack and knocked the birds out with Thunderbolt. The Vullaby cried in pain and dropped on the ground like flies.

"Let's get going," Ash told Pikachu, who nodded, and they ran out full speed.

Ash grinded his teeth in frustration, they were still a far distance from Mandibuzz and the bird was barely visible. The auburn-eyed teen couldn't stop Mandibuzz with an Electric-type attack because it knew Electric-type attacks would also hurt Sewaddle and Ash couldn't afford that risk.

_There's only one Pokémon who can help us,_ the boy thought and reached for a Pokéball, "Tranquil, retrieve Sewaddle from Mandibuzz!" Ash threw Tranquil's Pokéball into the air.

Tranquil emerged and wasted no time in flying toward Mandibuzz at full speed. Ash saw Tranquil getting close to Mandibuzz and used Air Cutter on the enemy.

Mandibuzz easily dodged the attack and glared at Tranquil, who just smirked at the Bone Vulture Pokémon. The angry bird released a Dark Pulse at Tranquil, but the Wild Pigeon Pokémon countered with a Gust.

Tranquil then used Quick Attack and bashed the large bird, making it fly back; it quickly gained its composure while still holding on to a frightened Sewaddle. The two powerful birds then used Air Cutter and Air Slash respectively, causing a midair explosion. In the midst of the battle, Mandibuzz used Dark Pulse and released a beam of dark energy at Tranquil; the Wild Pigeon Pokémon began falling down from the powerful blast.

Mandibuzz smirked in amusement while Ash and Pikachu's eyes widened. "Tranquil, get it together and fight back, don't let Mandibuzz get away!" Ash called out to Tranquil.

The bird heard Ash's words and gained its composure, the Wild Pigeon then released a Gust that caused Mandibuzz to fly back a bit. Tranquil darted towards the vulture Pokémon and bashed it back once more.

Mandibuzz glared at Tranquil and made its beck glow, the vulture prepared to use Fury Attack. The Dark-type darted at Tranquil and tried to hit the Normal-type many times, but Tranquil proved quicker and sent Mandibuzz back with Air Cutter.

This time the bird squealed in time and glared at Tranquil menacingly. Mandibuzz began to glow a fiery blue and charged at Tranquil. Ash and Pikachu gasped when they saw the powerful move being unleashed, "It's Brave Bird, Tranquil, counter with Sky Attack quick!" Ash yelled out in hopes of Tranquil hearing his command.

Tranquil smirked and jetted towards Mandibuzz, it became surrounded in a clear aura with white energy around it. The two powerful birds clashed and caused a large explosion visible from miles away.

When the smoke cleared, Mandibuzz began falling to the ground like a dead fly while Sewaddle had been freed from the claws of Mandibuzz, but was now falling down toward a river.

Ash and Pikachu began running to the river while Tranquil tried to catch up with Sewaddle, but the drop was much faster than Tranquil and the bird was exhausted from its fight with Mandibuzz.

When Sewaddle was about hit the river, Ash jumped into the water yelling, "Don't worry Sewaddle, I've gotchu!"

The pair then dropped into the water together while Tranquil and Pikachu watched with surprise. Ash held Sewaddle securely in his arms and tried to swim against the current, but the water was much stronger and kept pushing Ash and Sewaddle back.

"No good, the river is too strong," Ash groaned and turned to the direction the river was pushing them against, Ash, Pikachu, Sewaddle, and Tranquil's eyes widened when they saw a waterfall at the end of river.

Ash tried to swim as powerful as he could, but it was no use, "Darn, the current is just too strong."

The raven-haired teen let out a deep breath and held Sewaddle securely in his arms. Ash smiled at Sewaddle and closed his eyes. Sewaddle gave the boy a confused gaze as they reached the waterfall.

Pikachu and Tranquil called out to Ash, begging him to fight back, but the boy didn't move and they reached the waterfall. The two began to fall and Ash maintained his eyes closed until he heard May's voice, "Ash!"

Suddenly, a strong thread wrapped around Ash and the boy felt himself being pulled up. The black-haired teen looked up and saw Burgh, May, Iris, and Cilan with Leavanny, who was using String Shot to pull them up.

"You made it!" Ash smiled with joy as he continued to be pulled up.

When they finally touched land and reached safety, they were greeted by their friends. Pikachu and Tranquil also reached the group and received Ash. "Ash!" May ran up to him and hugged him, her voice shaky.

"Hey May," Ash held May in his arms.

"Why are you so stupid?" May looked at him and grinned sheepishly.

"I thought I was smart," Ash teased May and made a reference to the conversation they had yesterday.

May sighed and laughed with the raven-haired teen, the brunette relieved that her boyfriend was still in one piece. "That was a close call, but we managed to get Sewaddle back," Burgh crossed his arms and smiled at the couple.

"Thank you Burgh, Leavanny," Ash thanked the pair. The auburn-eyed teen looked down at Sewaddle who rubbed itself against Ash affectionately.

"What do you know, Sewaddle likes you now and is thanking you for saving its life," Iris placed her arms behind her back and smiled.

"Actually, Sewaddle wants Ash to catch it," Cilan pointed out the reason for Sewaddle's change of heart.

Ash placed Sewaddle on the floor and looked at it, "Is that true Sewaddle?"

Sewaddle nodded happily and the friends smiled at the Bug-type's reaction. Ash reached for a Pokéball and spoke, "Well in that case, here goes!" Ash threw the Pokeball and trapped Sewaddle inside.

After a few motions, the Pokéball sealed, but the button was glowing red. Ash looked at the ball suspiciously and asked, "Why is the button red?"

"Because you have a full party Ash," Burgh stated the reason behind the red color on the button.

"But I only have 5 Pokémon," the teen replied.

"The egg counts as a Pokémon too Ash," Iris pointed out the obvious.

"Oh…" Ash simply replied, feeling stupid.

"There's Pokémon Center outside of Pinwheel Forest, the road to the Pokémon Center also happens to take you to Castelia City. If you want to transfer another Pokémon to Professor Juniper in order to use Sewaddle, then we should probably stop there," Burgh informed Ash.

"I don't see why not," Ash nodded.

* * *

**Outside of Pinwheel Forest…**

Relieved to be out of Pinwheel Forest, the gang reached the Pokémon Center in no time and Ash transferred one of his Pokémon to Professor Juniper so he could have access to Sewaddle.

"Thank you for receiving Tranquil, Professor Juniper, I'll transfer him back soon," Ash told the knowledgeable woman.

"Always happy to help Ash," Professor Juniper smiled.

"Goodbye Professor," Ash grinned and waved goodbye while Juniper did the same until the screen turned black.

Ash turned to his friends and grinned, "Everyone, please welcome Sewaddle to the team!" The auburn-eyed boy released the Bug-type, who smiled happily at Ash and his new friends.

Sewaddle's new trainer kneeled down and touched his head with Sewaddle's, representing the fact that Sewaddle now saw Ash as his trainer and friend.

Burgh snapped his fingers and spoke, "That's it, I finally have painting planned out, Ash, thank you so much for inspiring me with that wonderful moment!"

"Uhhh, no problem Burgh," Ash smiled, not understanding how that scene could've inspired Burgh.

"Well I have to go now, there must be many challengers waiting for me at the gym and my paint brush is also waiting for my arrival," Burgh told the youths.

"Then we'll see each other in Castelia City," May said, standing next to Ash.

"It was a pleasure meeting you all," Burgh smiled as he prepared to exit the center. "Ash, I'll be waiting for you at the Castelia Gym," the brunette stated.

Ash shook his head up and down, "I'll be training my hardest in the meantime."

"I look forward to it," Burgh grinned and walked off, waving goodbye to the group of teens.

Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Axew happily waved goodbye, anticipating the day of Ash's gym battle to meet Burgh again.

**Shorter chapter than the others, but I was happy about that. Anyway, hope you liked it. It was much humbler than the other recent chapters, which was sort of a relieve for me cause it makes it easier for me to write, it was also like those many chapters where the real problems are forgotten and the teens are just traveling Unova, confronting everything in their way. Remember to review, give feedback, opinions, anything like that. Next Chapter should be up during the weekend, so till then!**


	17. Storm of Clouds

Chapter 17: Majestic Wings

"When do you think that egg will hatch, it's almost a month now," Iris stated, looking at the egg Ash was carrying.

Ash looked at Iris and then at the egg, "I don't know, but I can't wait to see what Pokémon it is."

"I bet it's a going to be a cutie," May clasped her hands together as she walked beside Ash and Pikachu.

"A Pokémon egg is arguably filled with mystery, you never know what to expect," Cilan commented, taking a glimpse of Ash's egg.

"Whatever Pokémon it is, I know it'll be a great partner, you'll it out won't you Pikachu?" Ash turned to Pikachu, who was on his shoulder.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cheered in agreement.

"Ax axew ax," Axew gazed at the egg intently, which Iris took note of.

Iris grinned at Axew and spoke, "You've never seen a Pokémon hatch, have you Axew? You're going to help it out too right?"

Axew nodded happily, "Axew ax."

All of a sudden, Ash felt the container shaking and looked through the glass. "Talk about coincidence," May looked through the glass with her beloved.

"It's hatching!" Iris clasped her hands together as the egg wobbled.

"Look at it glow," Cilan gazed at the egg, which now began to glow as well.

The egg took the shape of a humanoid Pokémon and it jumped out of the container, breaking the glass. Its surprise escape caused Ash to drop the broken container and the others turned to the newborn Pokémon.

It resembled a lizard and had oval-shaped eyes. It sported a small red scale on its yellow head. Below the yellow portion of its head, its body was cream-colored, with thin arms and a red, scaled belly. With its arms, it held up the molted skin around its legs, which resembled trousers.

The baby Pokémon turned around and looked at the teens, "Scrag," was the only thing it said when it saw the humans.

"What Pokémon is that?" May raised an eyebrow, still slightly shocked by Scraggy's entrance.

"It's a Scraggy," Iris smiled, looking at the newborn.

"Scraggy?" Ash raised his eyebrow and reached for his Pokédex.

"Scraggy, the Shedding Pokémon, the lower half of Scraggy's body is covered by a tough rubbery skin and when someone makes eye contact it responds with Headbutt," the machine informed.

Ash put away his Pokédex and approached the baby with his friends. "Hey Scraggy, I'm Ash," the raven-haired teen kneeled down and grinned at the newborn.

"And we're your friends," May kneeled down next to Ash, giving Scraggy the same smile as Ash.

"Scraggy?" Scraggy tilted its head in confusion.

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu introduced itself to the baby.

Scraggy looked at Pikachu and then glared, the Fighting-type then charged at Pikachu with Headbutt, but the mouse easily dodged by leaping off Ash's shoulder. The Shedding Pokémon's face then landed on the ground while the teens raised eyebrows in confusion.

"Scraggy tried to hit Pikachu the moment it introduced itself," Iris crossed her arms and gave Cilan a puzzled look.

"Yeah, what's up with that, it nearly hit me," Ash stood up with May.

"Scraggy tend to do that like the Pokédex stated, they just feel like it's natural for them to do that," Cilan explained to his friends.

Axew jumped out of Iris's hair and walked over to Scraggy, who was getting up after missing Pikachu.

"Axew ax ax," Axew extended its hand out to the Dark-type.

Scraggy looked at Axew's hand and then glared Axew, "Scrag scraggy!" the little one charged at Axew with Headbutt, this time hitting its target and sending Axew rolling back to Iris's feet.

Axew got up and glared at Scraggy, but before it could attack, Iris picked her up and sighed, "You have to have patience with it Axew. It's just an infant."

"Maybe the other Pokémon can tell Scraggy that what it's doing is bad," Ash reached for his Pokéballs.

"That's not a bad idea, Ash," May winked at Ash for his clever thinking, making the boy blush lightly.

"Why don't my Pokémon tag along too," Cilan reached for his two Pokéballs.

Ash nodded and called out his Pokémon, "Sewaddle, Oshawott, Tepig, and Snivy, come out!" The auburn-eyed teen threw his Pokéballs in the air.

"Blaziken, Deerling, Purrloin, Tepig, and Petilil, say hi to Scraggy!" May followed Ash's actions.

"Pansage, Dwebble, let's go!" Cilan threw the two Pokéballs.

In front of the teens appeared thirteen Pokémon, including Axew and Pikachu among them. They all happily greeted the newborn Scraggy. Axew then tried to talk with Scraggy again with Pikachu this time, "Ax axew axew."

"Pikachu pika pi," Pikachu motioned his arms around as he spoke.

Scraggy glared at the pair and used Leer, but only Axew moved back in fear while Pikachu raised an eyebrow. "Scrag scraggy scrag!" the Shedding Pokémon charged at them with Headbutt, but the pair narrowly dodged and Scraggy hit the ground again.

"Scraaagy," the Dark-type got up and saw the crowd of Pokémon in front of him. The Fighting-type then charged at Snivy, who was closest.

As Scraggy charged, the Grass-type lifted the baby with its vines and sent it flying at Blaziken. "Snivy, you're supposed to be helping Scraggy, not throwing it around!" Ash exclaimed while Snivy shrugged its shoulder as if saying it was only defending itself.

Blaziken nimbly dodged the incoming Pokémon and Scraggy hit Oshawott instead. "Oshawott osha," the otter got up and glared at Snivy, blaming the snake for the incident.

"Snivy sni," Snivy giggled mischievously.

Oshawott frowned and used Water Gun, but Snivy easily dodged and the Water Gun hit the pair of Tepigs instead. The pigs frowned at Oshawott and used Ember to retaliate, but Oshawott moved out of the way and Deerling was hit instead.

Oshawott began laughing once he saw the toasted Deerling and the Season Pokémon used Energy Ball on the Tepigs and Oshawott as retaliation.

"This is not working out like I planned," Ash face palmed himself.

"Looks like Scraggy is not done charging yet either," May sighed with the boy.

Scraggy got up and chose a different target, this time it chose Pansage, but monkey easily jumped over and Scraggy hit Dwebble instead. Cilan's Dwebble, in rage began to attack Pansage, blaming the Grass-type for being hit. Pansage kept dodging Dwebble's attacks and eventually, the other Pokémon got involved in the mix as well. Scraggy continued using Headbutt on the Pokémon, but was brushed outside by the others and continued their conflicts.

Blaziken, Pikachu, and Axew tried to ease the situation, but the trio also got thrown into the conflict, although Pikachu and Blaziken easily avoided their companions' attacks.

"This is getting out of hand," Cilan watched with his arms crossed.

"Ash, try to stop Scraggy before it gets all the Pokémon to knock each other out!" Iris demanded, wishing the pandemonium could stop.

Ash nodded and yelled, the raven-haired teen's sounded aggressively loud, "Enough!"

The scream alarmed even May and Iris, who didn't expect Ash to sound so angry moved away from him. All the Pokémon stopped their quarreling and turned to Ash with confused gazes.

Ash let out a deep breath and smiled, acting as if he hadn't screamed so loud. "Scraggy, can you please stop attacking the other Pokémon, look at the mess it's caused."

Scraggy just looked at Ash straight in the eye and glared, "Scraggy!" the Pokémon cried out and hit Ash with Headbutt. The boy fell over, but May caught her boyfriend in her arms before he could fall back.

"Ash, are you ok?" May looked at her beloved with caring eyes.

Ash looked up at her and gave her a half smile, "Remind me to avoid eye contact with Scraggy."

May giggled and saw the red spot on Ash's head formed by the Headbutt. Ash got his balance and sighed at Scraggy, "Alright guys, here's the deal…"

But the boy stopped when he realized the environment was getting foggy. "Hey, where'd this mist come from?" Iris looked around with baffled expression.

"It wasn't like this a second ago," Cilan also seemed puzzled and examined the source of the mist.

All the Pokémon got near their respective trainers for security as the fog got denser. "Ash, I'm scared," May turned to her lover and looked into his eyes for comfort.

Ash smiled at May and looked into her eyes so he could comfort her, "There's no reason to be afraid May, it's just a little fog. I've been in these situations many times before." May let out a deep breath and smiled sweetly at Ash.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu got the couple's attention and they turned to the mouse.

"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash turned his gaze from May to the mouse.

The mouse pointed to Iris and Cilan's position and saw that they were longer there. "Where'd Iris and Cilan go?" May grabbed Ash's hand so she could feel safer.

"They must have gotten lost in the fog," Ash said and turned to May. "We should return all our Pokémon so they don't get lost in the fog."

May nodded in agreement and the lovers returned all their Pokémon, except for Pikachu. When Ash was about to return Scraggy, the Dark-type moved away from the red beam. Ash sighed, "Scraggy, you have to get back in your ball, it's not safe at here for you."

"Scraggy scrag," Scraggy frowned at Ash.

"Maybe it's been trapped inside that egg for so long, it's not ready to go back inside another sphere," May suggested a reason for Scraggy's disobedience.

Ash let out a deep breath and then smiled at Scraggy, "Alright Scraggy, you win, but stay close."

Scraggy frowned, but nodded. The group of four began walking around the mist, looking for Iris and Cilan. "Iris, where are you?!" May shouted out so her friend could hear her.

"Cilan, can you hear me?!" Ash screamed out as well, trying to see if his friend could hear him.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu also helped out by calling out their friends too.

The teens and Pikachu continued to scream out Iris and Cilan's names, but to no avail. "My throats starting to feel sore from screaming so much," May told Ash after he screamed Cilan's name again.

"I know, mine is too," Ash scratched his throat.

"How will we be able to find them in this mist if they don't seem to hear us," May questioned, stilling holding Ash's hand.

"We will, don't worry," Ash squeezed May's hand and grinned, sensing the anxiety in his girlfriend and tried to comfort her.

All of a sudden, Scraggy began running ahead of Ash and May, alerting the pair. "Scraggy, come back!" May cried out, but Scraggy kept running until they lost it in the fog.

"Pikachu, go after Scraggy and stop it," Ash ordered his friend, who nodded and dashed after the mischievous newborn.

"I hope we don't lose them too," May said with a worried tone.

Ash smiled and pointed in front of them, "Look, they're right there!"

May turned to wear Ash was pointing at and saw Pikachu and Scraggy standing just a few feet away from. When the pair reached the Pokémon, they saw the two Pokémon gazing at the mist with petrified looks.

Ash raised an eyebrow and inquired, "What's wrong pal?"

"Pika…" Pikachu pointed at the mist.

"I don't see how you two are the chosen ones. Someone who can't even tame his Pikachu to be inside a ball seems nothing more than a laugh." a teenage voice stated with a stern voice.

"Not again," May grinded her teeth in frustration, knowing what was ahead.

"You guys and your entrances are really starting to get on my nerves," Ash spoke out to the mist, unable to detect the person speaking to them.

"That's why I don't understand, how two measly lovers could pose such a threat to criminal organizations and the Majestic 12," the youthful voice continued to speak with a serious tone.

"Come out now, who are you exactly!" Ash called out the mysterious voice.

"Someone from the dark," the voice replied.

"Is it you, Archer, Silver, or Omega?" May asked with an anxious voice, trying to identify the person.

"None of them," the voice answered.

"What do you want from us?" Ash spoke to the voice with annoyance.

Suddenly, a certain part of the fog started to clear and a figure in a black coat appeared. He was Ash's height and his voice implied that he was nothing more than a teenager or a young adult.

Ash, May, and Pikachu glared at the figure in black while Scraggy became confused by the stranger's presence. The figure gazed at Ash and May and spoke, "Tell me, why it's you?"

"Why what?" Ash made a fist and frowned at the stranger.

"Can you stop speaking riddles," May also made a fist.

The figure pulled his hood down and revealed himself to the couple and Pokémon. He was no older than Ash, he had golden blond, spiky hair and he had dark blue eyes. The spikes on the right side of his head were windswept and he had a stern gaze in his eyes.

"I remember you, you're…" Ash remembered his face from Nuvema Town, but couldn't recall his name.

"Cloud," the teen responded.

Ash nodded, remembering his name. "What do you want from us?" May asked Ash's question to the blond teen.

Cloud closed his eyes and spoke softly, "My answer," but the response only confused the couple even more. He then opened his eyes again and gave them a smirk, he then reached for two Pokeballs and tapped on the button to increase their size, "But there's only one way to find out," Cloud added.

The teen threw the Pokéballs in the air with speed. From them, a Latias and a Latios came out, both giving Ash and May stern gazes like their trainer.

"Use your strongest Pokémon, I recommend it," the teen gave them a sly grin.

"You're using Legendary Pokémon…" May reached for Blaziken's Pokéball in preparation for battle.

"What other choice do we have, but to use our strongest," Ash glared at Cloud and then looked at Pikachu, who gave Ash a stern nod.

Cloud nodded and spoke, "Latios, Latias, change the scene." Latios and Latias's eyes began to glow blue and suddenly, Ash, May, Pikachu, and Scraggy found themselves in the mountains where it was cloudy and drizzling.

"How'd we get here?" May looked around in confusion.

"Now show them the illusions," Cloud commanded and the Eon Duo's eyes began to glow blue again.

Ash and May's eyes widened when they saw illusions of themselves around the mountain area. Ash stared dumbstruck at an illusion of when he jumped off a cliff to grab Pikachu when he first arrived in Hoenn. May gasped when she saw another of her falling after stepping on the ground, she recalled that moment from the time she and Ash along with Max and Brock were in the Valley of Steel. The two then gazed behind a smirking Cloud and saw another illusion of the two holding hands while trying to escape from the Forbidden Forest.

"These are moments from our past," Ash said with perplexity, not understanding how it was possible.

"They are moments when you two first traveled together, you're not reliving them. They're merely illusions created by Latios and Latias. Even this mountain is in illusion; you're still in the plains, but your mind is somewhere else, thanks to the Eon Duo. That's why you are seeing all these things, Latios and Latias have infiltrated your minds and created these illusions with your memories," Cloud explained the reason for the multiple illusions.

Ash and May became amazed by what Cloud had told them, they didn't even know that was possible. The couple and Pikachu continued to gaze at the illusions that represented their past. "The only way you can escape from the illusion is if you battle me," Cloud made a fist.

"Fine, if that's what you want," Ash gave Cloud a dirty look as Pikachu got on the battlefield.

"Blaziken, come out!" May threw her starter Pokémon's Pokéball.

Blaziken appeared on the field beside Pikachu and glared at its opponent, the Blaze Pokémon recognized Cloud's black coat and quickly took a fighting stance.

"Latias, use Mist Ball on Blaziken. Latios, use Dragon Pulse on Pikachu!" Cloud extended his arm out.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail to counter it!" Ash exclaimed.

"Blaziken, use Quick Attack to dodge and bash Latias!" May made a fist.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped into the air and sent Dragon Pulse back with Iron Tail, Latios dodged the Dragon Pulse and the attack hit the wall of a mountain.

As Mist Ball charged at it, Blaziken moved away and dashed at Latias, but Cloud smirked, "Psychic to send that chicken back."

Before Blaziken could reach Latias, the Eon Pokémon's eyes began to glow and so did Blaziken. The Dragon-type then sent Blaziken back, crashing the starter against the ground.

"Pikachu use Agility and then Volt Tackle on Latias!" Ash commanded, retaliating for what Latias did to Blaziken.

"Latios, counter it with Luster Purge!" Cloud instructed and Latios quickly got in Latias's defense.

"Blaziken, try to stop Latios with a Mega Kick!" May prepared to back Ash up.

"Latias, stop Blaziken with Dragon Pulse!" Cloud ordered his next attack.

As Pikachu began charging towards Latias with a combination of Agility and Volt Tackle, Latios quickly charged a purple aura and shot the beam at the charging Pikachu. Blaziken jumped up and prepared to kick Latios to cancel out its attack, but Latias used Dragon Pulse to stop the Fire-type.

"Blaziken, redirect your Mega Kick and the Dragon Pulse and turn it into a Blaze Kick!" May commanded and Blaziken changed its direction to the Dragon Pulse. When the Dragon-type attack hit Blaziken's fiery talon, a midair explosion was caused.

"Pikachu, jump on the Luster Purge and charge until you get close enough for an Iron Tail!" Ash countered Cloud's counter.

"What?!" Cloud exclaimed and saw Pikachu jump on top of the Luster Purge. The mouse then began charging at Latios and sent the Dragon-type flying against the wall of a mountain with Iron Tail.

"Blaziken, now!" May commanded and Blaziken sprinted out of smoke and took Latias by surprise, the Blaze Pokémon then sent the Dragon-type crashing against a wall with Mega Kick.

Latios and Latias quickly gained their composure and Cloud smiled, "Not bad, but not good enough. Latios, Latias, use Recover!"

"No way!" Ash and May shouted in surprise. Pikachu and Blaziken widened gasped as the Eon Duo began to glow yellow and the cuts they received vanished.

"Now Latias, use a double Mist Ball on Pikachu and Blaziken!" Cloud extended his arm to the left.

"Blaziken, dodge it!" May commanded.

"You do the same, Pikachu!" Ash extended his arm out to the right.

The two swift Pokémon easily dodged Latias's double attack, but Cloud smirked. "You missed!" Ash and May declared happily.

"That's what I was going for, Latios, Earthquake!" Cloud demanded and Latios made the ground shake with by descending.

The ground began to shake uncontrollably as Pikachu and Blaziken lost their balance and the motions of the ground sent them flying against the wall. Ash and May's jaws dropped, knowing the attack would have a heavy hit on both.

Scraggy's eyes had remained wide since the start of the battle; the Fighting-type was easily intimidated by the awesome power of the Eon Duo. All of a sudden, a large red Pokémon burst out of the ground, it was almost the size of a skyscraper, but strangely enough it didn't leave a hole in the ground from where it came.

Ash and May quickly identified the giant as, "Groundon!"

"Those are just the effects of the illusion, they might intrude on our battle so you might want to keep your focus at a peak," Cloud informed them and the pair remembered the incident with Kyogre and Groundon in Hoenn.

Pikachu and Blaziken groaned as they got up, but Latios and Latias were far from done. "Latias, now use Helping Hand!" Cloud instructed. Latias nodded and got beside its male counterpart and the two began charging up blue energy.

"This isn't good," Ash grinded his teeth.

"I know what you mean, we're going to have to coordinate better now, those two are almost unbeatable," May commented, gazing at the Eon Duo and nodded with Ash.

"Powered up and ready to attack, Latios, Latias, strike down Blaziken and Pikachu!" Cloud extended his arm forward with his hand opened.

Latios and Latias shot out a stream of blue energy at Pikachu and Blaziken with incredible speed, but Ash and May had a counter attack. "Pikachu…" Ash spoke his pal's name.

"Blaziken…" May said her starter's name.

"Use Fire Volt Tackle!" the couple instructed and their Pokémon nodded. Cloud raised an eyebrow, interested in how that combination would work. Blaziken released a Fire Spin, which Pikachu went through and charged up a Volt Tackle.

As the blue ray of energy and the combination neared, Pikachu's Volt Tackle made the flames more intense. The mouse then jumped forward with Fire Spin and charged, "Pikachu!" When the attacks collided a large explosion produced in front of Scraggy and the three humans.

Cloud watched in amazement while Ash and May hid their eyes from the shine. When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was panting and glaring at the Eon Duo, covered in scorch marks. "I can't believe Pikachu managed to take a hit that strong," Ash became surprised with the amount of power Pikachu had demonstrated.

"Yeah, I don't believe it either," May was just as surprised with Ash.

"Impressive, but there's more where that came from," Cloud smirked, alerting Ash and May.

Suddenly, a Blaziken appeared in front of Pikachu and caught the mouse off guard. The Blaziken used Blaze Kick, but Pikachu jumped over it. Blaziken then saw a Sceptile appear in front of it and it used Solarbeam. Blaziken countered with Overheat, but was surprised to see that Overheat just went through the Solarbeam.

Ash grinded his teeth in frustration, realizing what just happened. May frowned with anxiety and spoke, "They were illusions…"

"Unfortunately, your focus wasn't at peak," Cloud spoke to them and before the two could respond, a Luster Purge hit Pikachu and sent the mouse flying against the ground. Blaziken was also sent flying against the dirt by Mist Ball.

Ash and May spotted Latios and Latias above them, having assaulted them while they were distracted. "We're not going to win like this," May clenched her fist as she saw Blaziken get up, covered in bruises and panting heavily.

"We can use the other combination," Ash suggested, knowing that they only had one trump card left.

May looked at Pikachu and Blaziken, the brunette then nodded at Ash. "Now it's our turn," May glared at Cloud with anger.

"Show me your strength," Cloud smirked at them.

"Pikachu, get on Blaziken and prepare to use Thunder Blitz," Ash told his yellow friend.

Pikachu grinded his teeth and with its remaining strength, it leaped on to Blaziken's back as Blaziken began to glow red. "Blaze has activated!" May cheered with delight, knowing that might still win.

"Good, Pikachu begin charging Thunder," Ash grinned slyly.

May also formed a sly smile and made her next command, "Blaziken, use Flare Blitz!"

"Blaziken!" the Fire-type cried out and began charging at Latios and Latias, who remained in front of Cloud.

"Piiiiikaaaachuuuu!" Pikachu released a powerful Thunder attack that enveloped the pair in electricity, Blaziken and Pikachu were almost a gold color, reflecting the same combination Ash used to beat Tate and Liza all those years ago in Hoenn.

As Blaziken continued charging, a furious flame also began enveloping them and they resembled an electric, yet fiery bullet. "Dragon Pulse, both of you!" Cloud countered and Latios and Latias launched their Dragon-type attacks at the powerful duo.

Much to Cloud's surprise though, the Dragon Pulse vaporized on contact and Pikachu and Blaziken bashed at Latios and Latias, producing another powerful explosion composed of electricity and fire. Ash, May, Cloud, Scraggy gazed at the attack with astonishment.

They continued to stare until it vanished and revealed the four Pokémon. Blaziken and Pikachu were standing together, panting after unleashing such a powerful combination. Latios was also panting; his body was covered in scorch marks and enveloped in static.

Latias, however, laid on the ground, unconscious, much to everyone's surprise. "We defeated Latias," May stared in disbelief, but then formed a smile and looked at Ash.

"Looks like we did," Ash gazed at May with disbelief, but then grinned happily, having defeated a Pokémon of the Majestic 12 for the first time and it was a Latias.

"We got to celebrate this later," May winked at Ash and then giggled.

"You bet, now if we could only defeat Latios," Ash smiled at May and then turned their gazes to Latios.

Cloud smiled at Ash and May, admiring them and their power. "I see, so that's why," Cloud muttered and returned Latias. His stare became stern again and spoke, "You defeated Latias, but you still have a long way to take down Latios."

"One more hit and Latios is out, we're going to win!" May formed a confident smile.

"You're finished Cloud," Ash grinned confidently as well.

Suddenly, they found themselves in the misty plains again. "What's going on?" May stopped gazing at Cloud and looked around.

"We're back where we were," Ash realized with the brunette, Scraggy, Pikachu, and Blaziken.

"With Latias gone, Latios isn't able to keep up the illusions on its own, but no Latios can use its full power," Cloud smirked, alarming Ash and May when he heard the words, "full power".

"Latios, use Recover," Cloud commanded and Latios began to glow yellow.

"Not this time, Blaziken, use Overheat!" May instructed.

"Luster Purge," Cloud glared at Blaziken and as Latios recovered, it transferred some of energy to stop Overheat. The superior Psychic-type attack easily sent Overheat and sent Blaziken flying against the ground, dropping unconsciously.

May's eyes widened, "He took care of Blaziken with a single Luster Purge."

Ash placed his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry May, this isn't the first time Pikachu's gone up against a Latios, we'll give it our all," the auburn-eyed teen smiled warmly at his girlfriend.

May looked into Ash's eyes and smiled, "Go get em, Ash." Ash nodded and turned to Latios.

"Let's end this," Cloud smiled confidently.

"You know Cloud, you don't seem so bad compared to the other creeps in the Majestic 12," Ash told the blond-haired teen.

Cloud raised an eyebrow and glared at Ash, he ignored Ash's comment and spoke, "Shut up and battle, Latios use Luster Purge!"

"Pikachu, let's repeat the showdown in Sinnoh!" Ash cried out, making Cloud wonder what he meant. Pikachu nodded and grinned slyly. With the last of its energy, Pikachu jumped into the air and used Volt Tail.

Pikachu's tail turned into iron and then began to charge up electricity as it shot down like a bullet, breaking through Latios's Luster Purge up until a certain point. Cloud and Ash grinded their teeth in frustration, realizing they had ended in a standstill. Pikachu used up all its energy in Volt Tail while Latios roared as it tried to fight back with Luster Purge.

"Let Pikachu have it," Cloud simply stated and Latios used all its energy to send Pikachu flying into the air.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out as Pikachu flew up and then crashed down on the ground. May and Scraggy also watched in horror as Pikachu crashed down violently.

Pikachu panted as it lied on the ground, it stared at Cloud and Latios then at Ash. The auburn-eyed boy wasn't sure what to expect. The mouse got up again and prepared to battle again, "I can't believe Pikachu still wants to battle," May was surprised by Pikachu's willpower.

Ash gave Pikachu a smile and held May's hand as he prepared to make his last stand, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Latios give Pikachu a taste of its own medicine with a Thunderbolt of your own," Cloud countered and Latios released a Thunderbolt, surprising the couple and Pikachu. Latios's Thunderbolt easily canceled out Pikachu's and shot at the mouse, but then Pikachu got pushed to the side by Scraggy and the newborn took the hit.

"Scraaaaaaaggyyyyyyy!" Scraggy cried out in pain as Ash, May, and Pikachu watched in shock.

"Scraggy, no!" Ash shouted out.

"Latios, stop now!" Cloud quickly screamed out and Latios stopped.

Scraggy dropped to the ground, smiling weakly, but enveloped in Static. Ash and May quickly ran over to it and Ash put the baby in his arms. May caressed the newborn while Pikachu ran over to inspect it.

"Scraggy, why did you go off like that?" May petted the baby with a concerned tone, tears in her eyes, and horrified by the fact that a newborn had taken a full power blast from a Legendary Pokémon.

"Scrag…" Scraggy smiled weakly and closed its eyes and fainted, while static still traveled through its body.

"Pika," Pikachu petted the newborn as well, wishing Scraggy hadn't gotten in the way.

"Don't worry Scraggy, we'll get you better soon," Ash smiled at the baby Pokémon, but then gave Cloud a stern look. "The battle's over, Cloud…" the black-haired teen said.

Cloud closed his eyes and opened them again. "Your Scraggy needs medical attention, you should hurry if you want to get it cured. Today you showed me that you are stronger than we believed, the Majestic 12 has the right to fear you, Ash and May. You're still no match for them, but with more practice, your attacks, defense, and teamwork will become your tickets to win. I hope we meet again soon and battle, I'd like to see how strong you've gotten during our next meeting."

"Why are you telling us this," May said with a baffled look, confused about whether Cloud was a friend or foe.

"Because I'm not who you think I am," Cloud answered the brunette and vanished into the mist with Latios.

"Cloud…" Ash stared at the mist Cloud disappeared and then turned to May. May saw the worried gaze in Ash's eyes and gave him a warm smile.

"Scraggy will get better in no time Ash, I promise," May told the auburn-eyed teen. "We just fought an insanely powerful trainer and we've been worse situations, right?" May winked at Ash.

Ash felt comforted by her words and grinned, "Right."

May knew now wasn't the time, but she leaned toward the boy and pecked his lips with hers; it was a short, but sweet moment for the two. May caressed Ash's cheek and they prepared to search for a Pokémon Center. Pikachu grinned at the tender moment between the two, but quickly prepared to mobilize, but suddenly.

"Ash, May, Pikachu!" Iris's voice called out to them and the trio realized it was no longer foggy.

The trio turned to Iris and saw her running up to them with Cilan. "Iris, Cilan, Axew!" May shouted in joy.

"Boy, we're glad to see you," Ash smiled at the pair.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered as well, still covered in injuries.

Cilan smiled at his friends and spoke, "We were looking for you guys all over, we even called your names too, but we just couldn't find you."

"The same was with us, but we got into some trouble," May responded and gave them a sad look and turned to Scraggy.

Iris's eyes widened when she saw the injured Scraggy and realized Pikachu was also covered in wounds, "What happened?"

"We ran into a member of the Majestic 12, they challenged us to a battle and we had no choice, but to accept. We used Pikachu and Blaziken, but during one of the attacks the attacker's Pokémon used Thunderbolt and Scraggy took the hit for Pikachu," Ash explained the chaos that had transpired.

"That's horrible," Iris stated as she and Axew gave the unconscious Scraggy sympathetic gazes.

"Is there a Pokémon Center nearby, so we can take Scraggy?" May asked the two friends.

"I'm afraid not, the next Pokémon Center is a day's walk from here and it's already dusk," Cilan stated as he looked at the horizon.

Ash and May sighed with disappointed, realizing how fast the day had passed. Iris then began to speak, "Hey, why don't I go in search of herbs with Axew, I'm we'll be able to make a cure for Scraggy and even something to heal Pikachu if we look around."

"You'd do that Iris?" Ash gave Iris a cheerful grin.

"Of course, Scraggy is paralyzed and weak, Pikachu isn't exactly in top shape either, so we'll come back with the right herbs to cure both of them, right Axew?" Iris smiled and turned to her Dragon-type.

"Ax axew ax ax," Axew nodded happily, wishing to help their friends.

"Iris, thank you so much," May's eyes shined with gratitude, the brunette cared as much for Ash's Pokémon as her own.

"Why don't I help?" Cilan stated.

"Sure, Axew and I could use an extra hand," Iris happily accepted Cilan's offer.

Cilan nodded and spoke to Ash and May, "Ash, May, I'll leave the supplies here in the meantime, take care of Scraggy for now and you can set up the campsite if you'd like."

"Right," Ash and May replied.

With that, Iris, Cilan, and Axew rushed into the forest in search of the herbs. Ash, Pikachu, and May smiled; glad they had friends like Cilan, Axew, and Iris around. The couple then turned to the supplies in Cilan's bag, which had the tents and other necessary equipment for a campsite.

"We should probably set the campsite up to save Iris and Cilan the trouble, they are doing us a big favor," Ash told May as they sat on the grass in front of the sunset.

"Good idea," May responded, smiling at Ash's consideration.

"Pikachu, watch Scraggy for us while we setup the campsite ok?" Ash placed Scraggy in front of the mouse, who nodded.

Ash and May opened Cilan's bags and prepared the tent. As they setup the site, they began to talk, "Ash, that Cloud guy seemed nicer than all the other members of the Majestic 12 we've met so far."

"Yeah, but he didn't seem to believe it, he even got mad when I pointed it out," Ash told the brunette.

"I wonder why, I became surprised when he left without even harming us, I thought we would be as cruel as the others, but he even gave us the chance to heal Scraggy," May said.

Ash nodded, "I wonder if it's because he is about as young as we are."

"Maybe, but I feel like there's more to it, Silver didn't look so old either, but he was a jerk too," May recounted the event in Luxuria Town.

"There was one other thing that confused me, he kept talking about how we were the chosen ones and he's not even the first to say it," Ash pointed out a recurring statement among the M12 members.

"I don't know, maybe we've been chosen to stop all the bad guys roaming Unova or we're supposed to stop some impending crisis," May replied.

"Yeah, it's not the first time it's happened to me," Ash said, recalling the time he ran into an incident with the Legendary Birds in the Orange Islands.

"You know what makes me feel so relieved after every encounter we have with them or Team Plasma, Team Neo Plasma, or Team Rocket?" May asked a rhetorical question.

"What?" the raven-haired teen asked.

May reached for Ash's hand from across the pile of logs for the campfire, "That I make it out alive with you."

Ash gave her a tender gaze and leaned in to give her a proper kiss. The girl bit his lips softly and the auburn-eyed teen shoved his tongue in her mouth. He ran his fingers through May's hair and the girl placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled him closer. "May…I love you," Ash breathed softly on her lips and May just stared at him with loving eyes and kissed his forehead.

"Unbelievable, we leave you here for half an hour and you're already eating each other," a voice stated and the two turned to see Iris, Cilan, and Axew in front of them.

Ash and May began to blush red and gave the couple gave them sheepish smiles. "Piiiii…" Pikachu sighed, obviously tired, but smiled when he saw that Iris, Axew, and Cilan had returned.

"Did you get the herbs?" May still had tint of red on her face when she asked.

"Yep, right here, Cilan is going to help me turn into the actual medicine," Iris showed some leaves with Axew.

"Axew ax," Axew cheered happily.

"Awesome!" Ash made a fist that represented his happiness.

"We should get it done in no time," Cilan smiled and they all nodded at the green-haired male.

**15 minutes later…**

Iris approached Ash and May, who were with Scraggy and Pikachu, with a bowl of medicine, a towel, and a bottle of alcohol. Cilan walked over with Axew as well and sat down with the other teens.

"This should make Scraggy feel better, Ash, can you open its mouth?" Iris told Ash and then asked him to open Scraggy's mouth.

"Sure," Ash said and slightly opened the Pokémon's mouth, Iris then shoved in some of the medicine.

"May, use the alcohol and towel to ease Pikachu's wounds," Cilan handed May the other medicine equipment.

"Ok," May nodded and poured some alcohol on the towel and then rubbed it on Pikachu, the mouse squealed in pain and tried not to release an electric attack because of the alarming pain.

"Pika…." Pikachu sighed as May kept rubbing the towel, enduring the pain.

"Just relax Pikachu, just a bite more," May smiled and continued rubbing the towel, May once again felt like a mother as she tended to Pikachu's wounds, it was a nice feeling though.

As Iris gave Scraggy the medicine, Ash asked, "Iris, can I give Scraggy some medicine, I want to see what it feels like."

"Sure," Iris smiled and handed the medicine to Ash. "Just give it a few more spoons and let it rest, Scraggy should be feeling good as new tomorrow," Iris said, grinning at Ash because she knew the boy would be happy with the news.

Ash received the medicine with a smile and began giving the medicine to the sleeping Scraggy, the expression on the baby Pokémon's showed signs of alleviation in comparison to earlier, hinting at the ease Scraggy was now feeling.

As Ash gave Scraggy the medicine, he turned to May and saw her rubbing the towel with alcohol on Pikachu. May noticed and the couple smiled at each other as they each tended a wounded Pokémon.

"They look like parents tending to their children," Iris whispered to Axew and Cilan, making the duo snicker, but it was true.

The trio admired Ash and May, who sat next to each other, treating the Pokémon while smiling at each other lovingly. It certainly was a beautiful sight.

**That was it, I would've included the part where Scraggy is completely cured, but I got lazy lol. However, Scraggy is going to get better, obviously. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and Cloud's appearance, the battle between the lovers and Cloud was obviously the main event. The purpose of this chapter was to have Ash and May centralized while formally introducing Cloud and Scraggy. Remember to review Review REVIEW lol, leave thoughts and opinions. Unfortunately, I won't have time to update this week so the next chapter won't be up till next week. Till then guys!**


	18. Piercing Pain

Chapter 18: One Way or Another

"Scraggy, use Headbutt on Axew!" Ash commanded and Scraggy dashed at Axew with its head tilted forward.

"Petilil, use Magical Leaf on Scraggy!" May instructed with a loud voice.

"Axew, dodge Headbutt and use Scratch on Petilil!" Iris demanded and Axew avoided Scraggy's attack and rushed at Petilil.

Meanwhile, Petilil released Magical Leaf on Scraggy, but Ash and Scraggy quickly countered by using its molted skin as protection, causing the Magical Leaf to weaken during the impact. Axew then popped out of nowhere and scratched Petilil, making the Grass-type fall back.

"Give it another Scratch!" Iris kept instructing.

"Scraggy, give Headbutt another shot on Axew!" Ash made a fist as he yelled out.

Before Axew could bash Petilil again, Scraggy came from nowhere and sent Axew flying with Headbutt. The Dragon-type groaned and prepare to battle. During the little feud, May took quick advantage and Petilil used Synthesis, ready to battle and win.

"Ash, May, and Iris may be using the most inexperienced members of their teams, but it still looks like a real battle, they're certainly marvelous trainers with great taste," Cilan smiled as he stirred the stew he was preparing and watched the battle of rookies while cooking.

"Pi pika," Pikachu was helping Cilan and watched the novice battle with interest as well.

"You're next May," Ash grinned confidently as Scraggy switched his gaze from Axew to Petilil.

"That's what you think," May smiled slyly.

"Axew, let's show them who the real winners are," Iris smirked at her opponents.

"Petilil, let's use Magical Leaf on Scraggy!" May jumped in the air with excitement and punched her fist upward.

Petilil smirked and released a barrage of colorful leaves at Scraggy. "Axew, take down Petilil with Scratch while she's at it!" Iris took advantage of time she had to attack.

As the colorful leaves charged at Scraggy, the baby Pokémon lifted its molten skin for protection again, but the barrage didn't charge at Scraggy and divided into two different barrages. The two sets of Magical Leaf past by Scraggy, leaving Ash and Iris confused, but May was the only smirking. When one of the sets charged at Axew, that's when the pair realized what May was up to, "Axew, watch out, use Scratch to fight against the Magical Leaf!" Iris ordered quickly, but it was futile, Axew was unprepared and the attack sent the small dragon flying in pain.

The other set quickly charged at Scraggy from behind and before Ash could make a command, the barrage sent the newborn flying into the air with pain. Scraggy and Axew landed next to each other, both groaning in pain as they tried to stand up.

"Got you right where I want you," May muttered and smirked when she saw the pair of Pokémon in front of Petilil.

"Axew, use Scratch on Scraggy and then charge at Petilil with Dragon Rage quick!" Iris extended her arm forward with a loud tone.

"Scraggy, stop Axew with Leer and then take both of them down with Headbutt!" Ash commanded and Scraggy nodded.

Before Axew could hit Scraggy, the lizard-like Pokémon stopped it with an intimidating glare and used Headbutt, bashing the Dragon-type against the ground. May grinned and spoke, "Stop them once and for all with Stun Spore, then wrap this up with Magical Leaf!" the brunette ordered with a confident voice.

Before Ash and Iris's Pokémon could move away, Petilil quickly released an orange gas that paralyzed the pair. "No…" Ash grinded his with frustration, wondering what he could do now.

"Axew!" Iris shouted in fear as the Dragon-type showed signs of immobilization.

May's Petilil then wasted no time in using Magical Leaf on the duo, but Iris had another plan for the sapphire-eyed girl and her Grass-type. "Axew, use Dragon Rage!" Iris commanded, alerting Ash and May with the rash order.

Axew was unsure if it should use the move that moment, but looked into Iris's eyes and nodded. The dragon nodded and quickly charged up energy for the attack, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaxeeeeew!" Axew cried out moments before Magical Leaf could hit.

"Uh oh," Ash, May, Cilan, and Iris all stated in unison while the Pokémon, including Pikachu, had their eyes widened.

The result was what Ash and May had expected, Dragon Rage had failed to come out like it did a few times before and instead blew up in the dragon's face. Magical Leaf was vaporized in the explosion, but Axew, Scraggy, and Petilil all flew back due to the blast.

After a few seconds, the smoke cleared and a fainted Axew, Scraggy, and Petilil lay on the grass. "I guess it's a tie," Iris grinned sheepishly and giggled.

Ash and May smiled, the couple returned their Pokémon and thanked them for their efforts. The pair then walked over to Iris, who had picked up the unconscious Axew. "I actually enjoyed our training session," Ash told Iris, smiling with content.

"I had fun too, even though it ended in a tie," May also gave Iris the same content smile.

"I really enjoyed it too, Axew still may not have perfected Dragon Rage, but it made good practice," Iris grinned while cradling the Dragon-type in her arms.

Ash and May nodded in agreement. The trio then walked over to Cilan and Pikachu, who were preparing lunch. "Looks like lunch is ready," Iris took note of Pikachu and Cilan setting up the plates.

"Great!" Ash and May cheered simultaneously and then laughed at their antics.

Iris grinned at them and rushed over to Cilan to help. Ash and May followed close behind and Pikachu quickly ran over to the boy and got on his shoulder. "Pika pikachu!" Pikachu cheered as he gazed at his partner and May.

"It was a good practice wasn't it pal," Ash smiled and scratched the mouse behind its ears.

"I really thought I was going to win," May grinned shamefacedly, recalling how her close victory resulted in imminent defeat.

"Even if it wasn't an official battle, it felt like one, nonetheless, and all I can say is that you did fantastic," Cilan praised the teens as the couple approached the table.

"Thank you," Ash, May, and Iris replied.

Cilan bobbed his head and spoke, "The food is ready, so why don't we eat."

They all agreed and as usual, May and Ash sat next each other while Cilan and Iris sat at the opposite end. The trainers released their Pokémon and they all got next to their plates and began eating. They all ate calmly and without a problem, it was a relief for the teens that Scraggy had stopped attacking the others with Headbutt.

"Castelia City is less than a few hours' walk from here; we should be approaching the Skyarrow Bridge soon."

"Just a few hours?!" Ash asked with excitement, clearly surprised over how much they had advanced since Nacrene City.

Pikachu sighed and took a bite of his food as he saw Ash yell with food in his mouth.

Cilan nodded and chuckled nervously, seeing the food in Ash's mouth repulsed the green-haired teen, but didn't say anything. "What's the Skyarrow Bridge, I mean besides being a bridge." May asked the natives of Unova.

"It's one of Unova's bridges and pretty cool," Iris answered the sapphire-eyed girl.

"It's one of the longest suspension bridges in the world and its design is said to be inspired by another bridge on the other side of the world, I can't recall its name, but it began with a 'B'," Cilan gave May a little trivia regarding the Skyarrow Bridge.

"If we get across the Skyarrow Bridge, then we arrive in Castelia City," Iris mentioned one more thing about the bridge.

"And how far are we from the Skyarrow Bridge?" Ash questioned, feeling a sense of adrenaline building up inside him.

"It's just an hour from here," Cilan responded, hoping Ash couldn't exclaim with his mouth filled with food again.

Ash's eyes shimmered with anticipation and the boy started to eat his food faster than usual. Even May was a little repulsed by her boyfriend's table manners, "Ash, what's the sudden rush for?" the coordinator inquired.

"Skyarrow Bridge…just an hour away…gotta get to Castelia City…win gym badge," Ash stated as he ate as much as possible to keep up his strength.

May and Cilan laughed nervously while Iris sighed and spoke, "Ash, you eat like such a kid."

Ash frowned at her and took a bite of his bread, "Oh yeah, well you're a-," but before the boy finished, he began choking on the chunk of bread he swallowed.

"Ash, drink the water quick!" May ordered, handing him a glass of water.

The raven-haired teen accepted the cup without another word and began drinking it, his face was clearly red as the bread clogged his throat, but not even that worked. May wrapped her arms around the boy's stomach to try to force out the bread in his throat, but failed.

May let out a deep breath and frowned, "It's no use, it just won't come out," the brunette kept pressing on the boy's stomach.

Suddenly, Scraggy charged at the boy's stomach and used Headbutt, forcing the chunk of bread to fly out and get lost among the bushes. Ash let out a gasp as his face reverted to its normal color, the boy gave Scraggy a weak smile and spoke weakly due to the lack of air, "Thank…you…Scraggy…" the auburn-eyed teen breathed in and out.

"Scraggy," Scraggy grinned, proud of his accomplishment while the other Pokémon thanked him for saving the reckless teen.

After a few more seconds, he heard May's voice, "Ash, are you okay?"

Ash looked up at May, who stood with the same posture his mother did after he had done something mischievous. He smiled and spoke, "Yeah, thanks May."

"Honestly Ash, sometimes I give Iris support for calling you a kid, couldn't you try to eat a bit slower, the gym isn't going anywhere," May mothered him.

"I can't believe you almost died because of a piece of bread, you would think something worse would put us in this situation," Iris crossed her arms and sighed.

Ash chuckled happily and soon, May, Iris, and Cilan as well as the Pokémon began laughing at the boy's childish actions. The boy grinned and repositioned his hat, which had gotten out of place during the choking incident.

"Why don't we start heading to the Skyarrow Bridge anyway, let's get to Castelia City before it turns to dusk," Cilan stated and they all agreed as May helped Ash up from his seat.

They all packed up their stuff and returned the Pokémon into their Pokéballs, except for Pikachu and Axew. With all that done, the group mobilized and continued to Castelia City without another word regarding Ash's stupid behavior.

Like Cilan said, they had taken just an hour to arrive to the Skyarrow Bridge and Ash could see it from the hills. "Look, it's the Skyarrow Bridge!" Ash pointed at the structure.

It certainly was a long bridge and had a very unique, but slightly gothic design to it. The arches amplified its beauty even more as the teens admired it.

Then May spotted something even farther away that caught her attention. "Look, is that Castelia City?!" May inquired with excitement as she detected some incredibly tall buildings on the horizon.

"That's right," Cilan crossed his arms, smiling at the fascination in the brunette's face.

"I've never seen a city with so many tall buildings before," Ash also spotted the buildings in the distance. They were all skyscrapers, but there were several structures that left the others in the dust. One of them was a building with an antenna and very block-like in design, another resembled the previous building mentioned, but a bit shorter with a similar design except slimmer and the tallest seemed to be under construction, but it surpassed all the other buildings in terms of height and had a very unique design.

"Castelia City is famous for all its tall buildings, it's considered the capital of the world because it's home for many big companies, celebrities, and basically to people from all over the world. There are many stores to shop in, places to eat, areas to visit, Castelia has it all," Iris stated.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Ash and May held their hands together and raised them upwards. Ash did it out of his eagerness to defeat Burgh, but May did it because she was eager to see everything Castelia had to offer. Castelia City's reputation has even reached as far as Kanto; Ash recalled some of the people in Kanto who mentioned the enormous, modernized city.

Before Ash and May could start dashing toward the Skyarrow Bridge with Pikachu clinging on to Ash's hoodie so he wouldn't fall, they heard a yell, "Help!"

The couple stopped in their tracks and turned around with Cilan and Iris to see where the scream was coming from. "It sounds like it came from the trees," Iris said.

"And it sounded like more than one person yelling for help," Cilan added to what Iris said.

"What could be going on though?" May wondered as she stared in the direction the shout came from.

"Let's go find out," Ash said and ran into the trees with Pikachu.

Iris, Cilan, and May all ran behind the boy to investigate, knowing they had to help. When they arrived at the scene, the teens found a middle-aged couple in front of a Galvantula.

"That couple is being attacked by a giant spider!" May exclaimed when she saw frightened expression on the red-haired woman and purple-haired man. The woman wore blue jeans and black glasses with a red tank top, she also happened to have extremely long, red hair. The man wore khaki pants and some black shoes; he wore a blue vest and had a moustache.

"It's a Galvantula!" Cilan pointed out the name of the yellow spider-like creature.

May took out her Pokédex to see what the machine had to say about the Pokémon attacking the couple. "Galvantula, the EleSpider Pokémon. Galvantula attacks its prey by shooting electrically-charged threads and its front mandibles can hold down opponents," the device stated.

"Please help us get rid of this monster!" the woman screamed with fear at the teens.

"We don't have Pokémon to defend ourselves!" the man cried out with a scared tone.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack on Galvantula!" Ash turned to his friend that was on his shoulders. Pikachu nodded obediently and jumped down onto the floor. The mouse wasted no time at charging towards the EleSpider and sent the Electric-type flying against a tree and dropped to the ground unconsciously.

"That Galvantula just took a pretty hard hit," Iris smiled at the result.

"But it's an evolved Pokémon and Quick Attack isn't strong enough for a One-Hit KO, something fishy is going on around here," May began to suspect something and so did Cilan.

"Galvantula tend to be stronger than this," Cilan muttered.

"Thank you ever so much, young man!" the middle-aged woman thanked Ash happily.

"Indeed, how can we ever repay you?" the middle-aged man asked with gratitude in his eyes.

"Uh, you're welcome," Ash responded, suddenly getting a strange feeling inside him. _Something isn't right, I feel like I've seen these two before and that Galvantula lost without even trying, something isn't right here,_ Ash thought to himself, growing suspicious.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out and the teens turned to the mouse and saw him floating in the air with a green outline.

"Huh, what's going on?" Ash frowned when he saw Pikachu and then saw something come out of the bushes.

"Gothitelle," a black and purple bipedal Pokémon appeared. Its head was black with a point on top and a ribbon-like piece on both sides of the point. Its face was colored purple and had pink lips with blue eyes.

All of a sudden, Meowth popped out of the bushes with Gothitelle as well and smiled deviously, "Hey twerps, lwong time no see."

"Meowth!" Ash and the others teens exclaimed in surprise, but quickly glared at the cat, expecting trouble the very moment the feline appeared.

"What are you doing here?" May made a fist and frowned at the Normal-type.

"Challenging questions indeed," the woman with red hair began to speak.

"The answer's to come as we feel the need," the man with blue hair followed.

"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!" the woman revealed herself to be Jessie, still donning the black Team Rocket uniform.

"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!" the man turned out to be James.

"Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!" Meowth jumped in front of his comrades and slashed the air violently.

"The fie-," Jessie was about to continue but got interrupted by someone who dropped from the sky on his jetpack.

"Enough, there is no time for mottos today," the man said while standing in front of the Team Rocket trio. He had dark blue hair that reached his neck and olive green eyes. He wore a gray turtle neck coat with the Team Rocket logo on and the man had a cold look in his eye.

Ash, May, and the others quickly got a bad vibe from the guy as he glared at them. "Yes, of course," Jessie bowed down in fear.

"Our sincerest apologies," James bowed down with even more fear.

"Some ol habits a just meant ta die hard," Meowth bowed down as well, showing the exact same fear as Jessie and James.

The teens, Pikachu, and Axew looked at the Team Rocket trio who had frightened looks on their faces when the stranger arrived. _This guy must be pretty bad if Team Rocket is afraid of him_, Ash said in his head and looked at the newcomer.

"Whoever you are, let Pikachu go!" May also showed signs of fear by clenching her fists and carrying an uncertain face, but was able to spat at the tall male.

"Don't you Team Rocket jerks have some other hobby besides following us," Iris frowned at Team Rocket, clearly not very happy about meeting them again.

"Your crimes stop here!" Cilan spoke with authority due to the fact that he was a gym leader.

"My name is Pierce, I am a high-ranking Team Rocket operative so have some respect, I'm not like these clowns who you encounter on a regular basis," Pierce spoke coldly and turned to Team Rocket, who stood like statues behind him.

"And are you here to steal Pikachu?" Ash took a defensive position, readying a Pokéball to battle Pierce; knowing any high-ranking Rocket operative proved a challenge. Ash learned that by now after so many encounters with the criminal organization.

"No," Pierce simply answered.

"We're not?!" the Team Rocket trio shouted with surprise.

"Silence, it's your greed that's caused Team Rocket to fail so many operations in the past, we're here for one purpose only," Pierce stated, silencing Team Rocket again.

"Well, what do you want?" Ash clenched his fist and glared at Pierce.

Pierce smirked and suddenly, the teens found themselves floating in midair and with a green outline, but not because of Gothitelle, who was still making Pikachu levitate, but because of another Pokémon that appeared behind them.

"Perfect Telekinesis, Golett," Pierce put his arms behind his back as a round, blue golem with a yellow swirl on its chest appeared, motioning its hands at the teens.

"That Golett is using Telekinesis on us," Cilan grinded his teeth.

"I don't really feel comfortable floating in the air like this," Iris felt uneasy in midair.

Ash and May tried to reach for their Pokéballs, but Golett easily motioned them back in place with Telekinesis. "It won't let me reach for a Pokéball," Ash grinded his teeth with an anxious look.

"Me neither, it's using Telekinesis to control us," May glared at Golett with her fists clenched.

"Now let's get to business. Here's the deal, we're going to enter an interrogation session regarding the Black Stone. If you refuse to answer my questions or lie, my Galvantula will beat your Pikachu to the ground while Gothitelle holds the rat down with Telekinesis," Pierce smirked; speaking with a diabolical voice, pointing out that Galvantula had gotten up and prepared to hurt Pikachu, indicating that the spider was also another one of Pierce's Pokémon.

"What's so special about the Black Stone?" Ash groaned, glaring at Pierce as he asked, remembering the incident at Nacrene, which revolved around the artifact.

"The Black Stone is said to have a connection to a certain Legendary Pokémon of Unova, Zekrom. Centuries ago, two heroes of Unova were battling against each other with two members of the Tao Trio, Zekrom and Reshiram. The two heroes had a dispute over what was more important, truth or ideals. Zekrom sided with the hero who believed ideals were to be valued more. The battle between heroes plunged Unova into chaos and in the end, the conflict entered into an armistice and Zekrom disappeared, leaving only the Black Stone as a trace of its existence. Reshiram is rumored to have done the same, but only the Black Stone is confirmed to exist. Team Rocket wishes to harness the power of the Black Stone in order to summon Zekrom and use the dragon's power for world domination, do you understand now?" Pierce spoke sternly as the teens listened in horror.

"I doubt a Legendary Pokémon like Zekrom would ever agree to do your bidding," May responded, glaring at Pierce just like Ash.

Galvantula suddenly lifted one of its legs and made it glow purple; the EleSpider Pokémon then bashed Pikachu into the ground with Sucker Punch. "Pikaaaa," the mouse squealed in pain when it crashed into the dirt.

Pikachu groaned and shook off the pain as Gothitelle lifted the mouse back up with Telekinesis.

"What did you do that for?!" Ash yelled at the man with anger.

"Any signs of disrespect shall be taken as aggression and Pikachu will get bashed into the ground every time you show disrespect," Pierce crossed his arms, chuckling.

"Ash, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let Pikachu get hurt," May called the boy and looked at him with sympathetic sapphire eyes. Her eyes were turning red either from frustration or sadness, but Ash just gave her a kind smile.

He wished he could hug her right now, but all he could say was, "Don't worry May, you didn't know, the only one here who's going to pay is Pierce." Ash then turned his gaze to the ruthless Rocket operative.

"Your love is sickening, guess they weren't lying when they said you're nothing but kids in love. I honestly thought you were going to put up a real fight, after all you did manage to hold your own against several members of the Majestic 12…for a while," Pierce taunted the them.

Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan all grinded their teeth as Pierce gazed at them. "So tell me, do you have the Black Stone?" the green-eyed man inquired.

"No, we don't," Ash answered coldly.

All of a sudden, Galvantula used Signal Beam and blasted Pikachu against a tree with the multicolored beam. "Piiiiiii!" Pikachu cried out as it dropped to the ground and got lifted up again by Gothitelle.

Ash felt a part of him snap and screamed, "Why did Pikachu get attacked by Galvantula?!"

"Because I don't believe you, the Majestic 12 and Team Neo Plasma never returned to HQ with Black Stone because someone else had taken it from them, I'm assuming it was you," Pierce gave Ash a deadly stare.

"We weren't the ones who took it from them," Cilan interrupted; ready to help his friend with the interrogation.

"Then who did?" Pierce frowned in annoyance.

"It was a man in a black coat," Iris replied with Axew in her arms, the girl was also ready to stand up to Pierce.

"He just came into the museum and attacked all of those guys with his Pokémon, and then he retrieved the Black Stone from Charon," May answered.

Pierce crossed his arms and spoke, "What did he look, this man in black."

"We don't know, he was hiding under the hood of his coat," Ash spoke plainly.

Galvantula approached Pikachu again and sent the mouse crashing into the ground with Sucker Punch. "You don't believe us, what's it going to take for you to stop hurting Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he looked at his beaten pal, who gave Ash a weak look, as if telling the boy not to worry about him.

"How else am I going to get the truth out of you, you have to know something," Pierce continued to speak aggressively. Even Jessie, James, and Meowth became heavily intimidated by the cruelty Pierce was demonstrating.

"His name was Roxas!" Ash shouted in anger.

"Roxas…" Pierce raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"After we defeated Team Neo Plasma, Roxas retrieved the Black Stone from Charon and handed it to us. We handed it to Lenora and she said she would take care of it, we don't know anything else, and we don't have the Black Stone!" Ash yelled at Pierce with full anger, even frightening the Team Rocket trio, who hadn't seen him this furious in ages.

Pierce gazed at the teens with disbelief and mumbled, "So he lied?" All of a sudden, Pierce's olivine green Xtransceiver began to beep and the operative answered, "Pierce speaking."

"Sir, we have retrieved the other artifact, the boss wants you to head to Castelia City this instant," the Team Rocket Grunt informed Pierce.

Pierce nodded, "I'll be there as soon as I can. I have some loose ends to tie." The grunt shook his head and Pierce hung up.

"We told you everything we know, will you let us go now?" May clenched her fists and glared at Pierce with anger.

Pierce chuckled and Galvantula shifted its gaze from Pikachu to May. "You'll be the first to go just because you've been a thorn on my side since the start of this mission, you're boyfriend will miss you dearly."

"What?" May gave Pierce a frightened look as Ash, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Jessie, James, and Meowth's eyes widened.

"I'm going to do what the Majestic 12 failed to do in Kanto, Galvantula, use Signal Beam!" Pierce commanded the EleSpider Pokémon.

Galvantula released Signal Beam, targeting May and as the energy beam released, everyone watched in horror as it blasted toward May, but all of a sudden a Stone Edge got between the brunette and Signal Beam, canceling out the attack.

"What?!" Pierce looked around in anger.

Then a Sandile with sunglasses burst out of the ground. "Sand Sandile sand," Sandile smirked at Pierce.

"It's a Sandile," Jessie stated with surprise.

"Hey wait a minute, those sunglasses, the Sandile, I've seen it somewhere before," Iris tried to remember where she could've seen the Pokémon before.

"Yeah, I remember it too, It even arrived at the Day Care when Team Plasma attacked, but it got lost during the battle," Ash recalled the past encounter with the Sunglasses Sandile.

"It's the same Sandile from the spa!" May declared and that's when Iris remembered it as well. "I'm glad it showed up in time to save us, but what is it doing here, has it been following us?" May questioned as they continued to float in the air.

"It's a powerful Sandile if it was able to use such a high-powered move to stop Signal Beam," Cilan commented, taking notice of the Sandile's power.

Pierce glared at the croc and spoke, "I don't know how you luck seems to favor you children all the time, but that lucky streak ends here, when I'm done with the Sandile, I'll vaporize all of you in one blast."

"This guy is almost as bad as Hunter J," Ash crossed his arms, mocking Pierce for his tough guy attitude.

"Sandile sand sandile sand," Sandile chuckled at Pierce.

"What's it saying Meowth?" James asked with a puzzled look.

"It says, 'you ain't gonna hurt anyone taday, and if ya tink you can beat me, you're a joke," Meowth quoted the Sandile.

"Harsh words," Jessie said and turned to the Sandile with James.

Pierce turned to Jessie and James and spoke, "What are you fools doing? Help me fight against the Sandile and finish this mission."

"Right," Jessie and James nodded, leaving Meowth behind.

Meowth looked at the injured Pikachu was still being held by Gothitelle's Telekinesis and then turned to the twerps, who were eager to see Sandile pummel the Rocket operatives. "Something tells me tis ain't gonna end in our favor," Meowth muttered to himself and prepared to watch his friends battle.

"Woobat, take down that Sandile!" Jessie called out her Flying-type.

"Yamask, it's time to battle!" James released the Ghost-type.

Woobat and Yamask appeared beside Galvantula and prepared to battle the Sandile. "Go get em Sandile!" Ash cheered for the croc.

"We know you can win!" May added to what Ash said, recalling the skill Sandile demonstrated in their encounter.

"Impudent children, Galvantula, use Signal Beam on Sandile!" Pierce extended his arm forward.

Sandile smirked and went underground, making Pierce groan in frustration as Galvantula's Signal Beam missed, exploding when it hit a tree.

"Fools, do something!" Pierce commanded Jessie and James.

James and Jessie nodded in fear. "Yamask, release a Shadow Ball into the hole, Sandile dug up!"

"Yamask!" the Ghost-type Pokémon cried out and released a Shadow Ball that went underground.

At that very moment, Sandile burst out as the ground beneath it exploded. It narrowly managed to escape, but without wasting another second, it used Bite on Yamask. The ghost Pokémon cried in pain as Sandile bit it and threw it against the ground, leaving the Ghost-type unconscious.

"Wow, that's strong," Iris became amazed by the speed and strength Sandile demonstrated, managing to knock out Yamask rather easily.

"Useless, Jessie, go!" Pierce ordered.

"Woobat, use Air Slash!" Jessie ordered, but Sandile just smirked again and unleashed Stone Edge.

The Stone Edge easily canceled out Air Slash and shot at Woobat, bringing the bat-like Pokémon crashing down to the ground unconscious, leaving Pierce even more frustrated. "Weaklings, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," Pierce clenched his fist.

"That's the way!" Ash cheered in joy while everyone else, including Axew and Pikachu smiled at how easily Sandile disposed of Jessie and James.

Sandile smiled at the teens and Pokémon surrounding him and prepared to take down Galvantula. The croc went underground while Pierce remained calm. "Galvantula, prepare for your Bug Buzz the moment that pest emerges."

Galvantula nodded as it waited for Sandile. Suddenly, Sandile emerged and used Stone Edge. "Break the stone with your most powerful Bug Buzz," Pierce crossed his arms as Galvantula unleashed a powerful sound wave, which destroyed the stones the moment the attack was unleashed.

Sandile flew back and cried out in horror from the irritable pain. Ash and the others also cried in pain as the buzz pierced their ears. "Galvantula, use Signal Beam and then give the Sandile a taste of real power!"

Galvantula released the multicolored beam for Sandile could even hit the ground and sent Sandile flying even further. With amazing speed, Galvantula rushed up to the croc and used Sucker Punch, bashing the Dark-type into the ground, making Sandile shout in pain.

"Sandile!" Ash shouted in fear for Sandile's safety.

"Pierce is really getting serious, isn't he, I almost want to chicken away," James watched in horror.

"I never expected Team Rocket to be this cruel towards others, he's killing that Sandile," Jessie mumbled to herself as Galvantula bashed Sandile.

"Dat Sandile iz gonna shoe material at tis rate," Meowth watched with a frightened expression.

Sandile continued to get repeatedly wailed in pain while the others watched with hopelessness since they were unable to do something. The Ground-type Pokémon felt something snap inside of it and grabbed one of the spider's legs with its hind legs and all of a sudden, the croc began to glow, alarming everyone.

"Impossible," Pierce grinded his teeth in frustration when he realized what was going on.

"It's evolving!" May exclaimed as Sandile began to change physically.

"This is great, now Galvantula's going to get it," Ash grinned and laughed at the irritated Pierce.

Sandile became a bipedal crocodilian and it was noticeably taller. It retained every physical aspect of a Sandile, except it was now about Ash's size; Galvantula moved back as Krokorok stood up and huffed at Galvantula. It picked up its sunglasses, which had fallen off during the beating it was receiving, and placed right where they belonged.

"It evolved into Krokorok," Iris's eyes glistened with hope.

"Such a powerful Sandile was bound to evolve soon," Cilan smiled, knowing Pierce would lose now.

"Krokorok!" the croc growled with anger and glared at Galvantula through its glasses.

"Tis is not good fur us," Meowth stated as Jessie and James watched with amazement.

"Signal Beam, I want a headshot!" Pierce commanded sternly. Galvantula released a powerful Signal Beam that aimed for Krokorok's head, but the Desert Croc Pokémon crossed its arms and moved its neck slightly, narrowly dodging the beam as it exploded behind the croc.

"Whoa," Ash admired the evolved Sandile, fascinated by the confidence and power it seemed to display.

Krokorok then formed a half-grin as if saying, my turn. The croc dashed at Galvantula with great speed and bit it, Galvantula cried in pain as Krokorok shook Galvantula angrily in its jaw and then slammed the EleSpider Pokémon against a tree. The Desert Croc then finished the job by bashing the spider with Stone Edge, which left the Bug-type crying in pain until it dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"No!" Pierce frowned as Krokorok turned from the unconscious Galvantula to Gothitelle. Krokorok dashed past Pierce and Team Rocket, it then bit Gothitelle and slammed the Psychic-type into the ground, finally freeing Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered when it was finally able to move.

Pierce glared at the pair of Pokémon and turned to Golett, "Golett, use Earthquake to stop those two, forget the children!"

Golett stopped its Telekinesis and stomped on the ground, making it vibrate, but before it could hit Pikachu, the mouse leaped onto Krokorok's head as Krokorok endured the attack. Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, and Axew all dropped safely to the ground and became relieved when they finally able to move.

"Ok Pikachu, use-," Ash tried to take control of the battle, but the mouse and Krokorok ignored him. The Desert Croc Pokémon dashed past them and prepared to use Bite on Golett, but Pierce was quick to act, "Golett, use Defense Curl now!" Golett curled into ball, but Krokorok also took evasive action by going underground, leaving Pikachu on the surface.

"What's going on?" Pierce clenched his fists, but before he could act, Krokorok burst from the ground and sent the rolled up Golett flying with Dig.

"Pikachu, help out by finish with Iron Tail!" Ash extended his arm to the left. Pikachu nodded happily and leapt into the air, turning its tail into iron and sending the balled up Golett crashing into the ground like a bat hitting a baseball.

When the dust cleared, Golett was also down for the count, but Gothitelle remained. The Psychic-type furiously got up and used Psyshock on Pikachu. Before Krokorok could come to the rescue, Pikachu stopped the croc and smirked, "Pika pi."

"Kro," Krokorok nodded and smiled.

"Pikachu, counter Psyshock with Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled out, but Pikachu didn't listen.

"Why isn't Pikachu listening?" May inquired, confused by the mouse's disobedience.

"Look!" Iris pointed at Pikachu's tail and Cilan nodded affirmatively.

Pikachu's tail began to get enveloped in electricity and at the tip, a large electrical ball formed. "What move is that?" Ash raised an eyebrow, surprised by the move Pikachu had never used before.

"It's called Electro Ball," Cilan informed the raven-haired teen.

"Piiiikaaachu!" Pikachu smirked and released Electro Ball from its tail.

Electro Ball charged against the thick masses of light blue, blue, and purple energy, ultimately colliding and causing an explosion between Pierce and the teens. "This isn't possible, I never lose," Pierce covered his eyes from the dust and saw Pikachu and Krokorok smirking with the gang behind them.

"Gothitelle, use Psybeam on that miserable mouse!" Pierce instructed.

"Gothitelle!" the Psychic-type attacked, but Krokorok got between the two Pokémon and the Psychic-type attack had no effect.

"Brilliant, Krokorok is Pikachu's shield for any of Gothitelle's psychic attacks because psychic attacks don't affect Dark-types, fascinating," Cilan placed his hand on his chin and watched with intrigue.

"Ok Pikachu, let's let Team Rocket have it with one more Electro Ball!" Ash made a fist and grinned confidently.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and jumped over Krokorok and unleashed an even larger Electro Ball. Creating a massive explosion where Pierce and the Rockets were located. A large cloud of smoke and dust was produced by the attack, but out of it, flew out the Rocket trio with Pierce.

Pierce looked at the teens with Team Rocket and smirked, "This isn't the last you've seen of us." With that said, the man and his comrades flew out of the zone, the Team Rocket trio, however, took one last look at Krokorok and the teens before escaping, wondering how they humiliated Team Rocket's best operative.

Ash ran past Pikachu and Krokorok and frowned at the fleeing Rockets, expecting their return, willing to settle the score with Pierce next time. The auburn-eyed teen turned around and smiled at his friends, "Glad we're still A-Ok."

The auburn-eyed teen then walked over to May and surprised her by holding her in his arms, "You don't know how frightened I was when Pierce used Signal Beam on you, I thought I was going to lose you," Ash said with a relieved tone and a few tears dropped down on May's head.

May returned his embrace and grinned at him, "I'm never going to leave you Ash, we're still here and we're together, besides no one can get rid of Ash Ketchum's girlfriend that easily!" May grinned and giggled playfully.

Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Krokorok smiled at the loving couple. Ash then separated from May and wiped a few remaining tears from his eyes and grinned at Krokorok. "Sand-, I mean Krokorok, thank you for everything. You saved us all just in time and you saved May," Ash thanked the Ground-type and smiled at his girlfriend when he mentioned her name. "I don't know why you did it, but I am glad you did, who knows what would've happened if you hadn't shown up. We're all thankful for what you did."

"Krokorok kro," Krokorok smiled as the teens thanked him for his actions. May leaned in and pecked Krokorok on its snout, making the Dark-type blush behind his sunglasses.

"But what were you really here for Krokorok; you've been following us right, but why?" May asked the Desert Croc.

Krokorok looked at May, then at Ash, and stopped his gaze at Pikachu. He noticed the mouse was covered in injuries and showed signs of exhaustion, Krokorok then smiled and let out a deep huff, in its head, the croc was thinking one thing, his battle with Pikachu could wait till the mouse would be at 100%.

Krokorok moved away from the teens and took off his sunglasses for a moment; the Ground-type winked at all of them and went underground without saying anything else. "It left…" Iris stated, their question having been left open.

"But it never answered our question," Ash spoke as he wondered where Krokorok would go off to now.

"Actually it did, I saw the expression on its face when it looked at Pikachu and I could tell it was here to battle Pikachu, why though, I'm not sure. When Krokorok noticed that Pikachu was injured and not in the condition for a full battle, it realized it would have to a bit more," Cilan stated, once again showing his understanding of Pokémon behavior.

"So it wanted a battle…" Ash spoke with a soft tone and then formed a confident smile, "Pikachu, we'll be ready for when Krokorok shows up again and battles us right?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu answered happily, eager to meet Krokorok again and put their abilities to the test.

"Pikachu even learned Electro Ball, that move could come into use for Krokorok and your next gym battles!" May pointed out the new move Pikachu had learned.

"Yeah, way to go buddy, I'm so proud of you," Ash kneeled down and scratched Pikachu behind one of its ears while May scratched in the other, the couple showing their affection for the little mouse.

"Chaaaa," Pikachu grinned happily as they scratched him.

"Are you going to use Electro Ball against Burgh?" Iris questioned the boy as he kept scratching Pikachu with May.

Ash smiled at Iris and then looked through the trees, he was able to spot Castelia City in the distance and the auburn-eyed teen spoke, "There's no doubt about it, and I'm going to win my third badge."

**That was Chapter 18, I tried to put as much Advanceshipping in this chapter as I could, but I hope you liked it! Not much happened here, except that I wanted a chapter focusing on the threat Team Rocket is posing as well since both Team Plasma and the M12 have already made many appearances. Pierce's little chat with the grunt has foreshadowed some future events that are about go down so stick around for that. Pierce is also clearly an evil person and has a greater role than that in the anime and he's going to be a big problem for everyone, trust me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, remember to REVIEW PLEASE, next time Ash has his gym battle and after that we are going to have some exciting chapters regarding the impending threat that has been read about since the first story. I'm sick right now though and I was barely able to get this chapter done, but I did because of you. I'll try to do the same with tomorrow's chapter, but no promises guys, sorry, I will try my best though. Well, till next time!**


	19. The Ties of Friendship

**There's a poll on my page I would like everyone to take a look at. It deals with Ash's father and well if you wanna know the rest, check it out. Remember to VOTE! The poll is only opened till Friday, so decide quick, cause your decision will decide a major element of this story!**

Chapter 19: The City That Never Sleeps

"Look at all these stores, Gucci, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, True Religion! I've never seen so many stores together in one place, not even Petalburg is like this!" May hopped from one window display to another as they walked by a street in Castelia City that consisted of over a 100 stores.

"This is 5th Avenue, it's the most expensive part of Castelia and the Unova Region," Cilan stated as he walked beside Ash and Iris.

"I don't really care about all that, I just want to get this over with so I can have my gym battle," Ash sighed as they walked, he always hated shopping sessions. _The things I do for love_, the boy thought and looked up at the skyscrapers, recalling how May begged him to stop by the stores and he had agreed. Pikachu could tell what Ash was thinking and felt sorry for the boy, he just couldn't say "no" to May.

May clasped her hands together and her eyes glistened as her friends approached her. The brunette pulled Ash's hand and made him look at the display for one of the stores, which sold multiple dresses for events like weddings, proms, and even Grand Festivals. "Ash, look at this!" the sapphire-eyed girl pointed at all the different colored dresses.

"Yeah, they're all so nice," Ash lied and just grinned sheepishly as May continued to stare at the display.

Iris placed her hands on her hips as Axew admired the dresses as well, "How much are these dresses anyway?"

May looked down at the price and saw the cheapest dress was $2,000, "All these dresses are more than $2,000 dollars, they're too expensive," the brunette sighed. Her gaze then turned to Ash and the boy raised an eyebrow when she saw her puppy eyes, "Ashy, could you please buy me a dress."

"What?!" Ash almost fell over while Cilan, Iris, and Pikachu actually did. Ash looked at May's puppy eyes and laughed nervously, _Who does she think I am? Money doesn't fall into my lap from the sky. _The auburn-eyed teen got his composure and sighed, "May, as much as I would like to I ca-," but the boy suddenly got cut off by the brunette.

She giggled and smiled, she stopped doing the puppy face. "I'm just kidding Ash. I know this stuff is way too expensive for us, but would you really buy me one if you could?" May raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he would say.

Ash let out a deep breath and grinned, "If I could I would May, you'd look great in all these dresses," the black-haired teen gave his honest opinion and gazed at the dresses on the window display. He imagined May in all of them, the black one, red one, blue one, white one, and knowing the figure May had, she'd look perfect in them.

May turned red when she heard Ash's words and could tell the boy was picturing her in the outfits. She inched a bit closer to hit and pecked his cheek, she used her hand to motion his gaze from the dresses to her face, she looked into his eyes and spoke softly, "You always say the right thing at the right time Ash, that's one of the many reasons I'm in love with you."

"I just want you to be happy May, nothing is more beautiful than your smile," Ash kissed her forehead; coming up with one of the most sweet phrases he had ever said his entire life.

The couple smiled at each other lovingly as Pikachu watched with a grin. "You think they'll get married Cilan and have lots of kids?" Iris giggled while speaking to her friend.

"It would certainly be very interesting, I've seen two people more in love," Cilan chuckled, picturing kid versions of Ash and May, which Pikachu would have to babysit.

"May, Ash, Cilan, Iris!" a voice called out the four teens, alerting them. Ash and May separated from their tender embrace and turned to see a familiar girl in front of them.

"Hilda!" May yelled out, glad to see her friend and rival again.

"Hey Hilda," Ash grinned at the sight of the friendly Unova brunette.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu greeted their friend.

"We weren't expecting to see you so soon," Iris walked up to the girl with the other friends.

"What brings you to Castelia City?" Cilan inquired.

Hilda smiled at her friends and began to speak, "My Xtransceiver got damaged a while ago and I came to Castelia because the company that builds has its headquarters here. I just got back from there and received a new one," the brunette showed them a red Xtransceiver.

"That's cool," May grinned at her as she held Ash's hand.

"So, I bet you guys are here because the Castelia Gym, right Ash?" Hilda shifted her eyes to Ash with curiosity.

Ash nodded and made a fist with his free hand, "That's right; I'm going to battle Burgh and win my third badge!"

"That's awesome, good luck!" Hilda placed her hands on her hips and smiled.

"Would you like to come with us?" May flashed a grin at the brunette and asked politely.

"You want me to go watch?" Hilda raised an eyebrow and placed a finger on her chin.

"Like they say, the more the merrier," Cilan stated, encouraging the girl to come along.

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Iris added to what Cilan said.

Hilda placed her hands on her hips and smiled at the 4 teens and their Pokémon, "Well ok then!"

"Great," May grinned at the brunette.

"Why don't we get a few slices of pizza while we're going, Castelia City has the best pizza around, it's my treat to you guys for letting me come along," Hilda offered with a happy smile.

Ash thought about it for a second, the boy was kind of hungry and Hilda was being really nice to them by offering pizza. _Can't battle with an empty stomach I guess_, Ash smiled and spoke, "Sounds good to me."

They all nodded and Hilda replied, "Perfect, there's a pizzeria nearby, I'll get a slice for each and we can get going."

"Alright," May shook her head and the group followed Hilda to a pizzeria just around the corner. Hilda winked at them and rushed inside, saying she'd be right back.

As they waited for the girl, they all saw people running and pushing each other in a certain direction. "What's going on?" Ash questioned, curious as to where the people were heading.

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder and ran in the same direction as the people.

"Pikachu, come back!" Ash tried to stop the mouse, but it ran too fast.

"Here you go," Hilda came out of the store with small triangle boxes, inside were average-sized slices of pizza for each one.

Ash looked May as Hilda came out and handed the boxes, "May, can you hold my slice, I'm going after Pikachu."

"We'll go with you," May told Ash as she received the box along with Iris and Cilan.

"What's going on?" Hilda raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Pikachu ran into the crowd of people, we're going after him," Ash told the Unova girl and ran after the mouse that was lost among the crowds of people.

May, Hilda, Iris, and Cilan ran after the boy. "Where are all these people going?" Iris looked at the crowds that were running and pushing each other, apologizing for their rudeness.

"I think I know, they must have gone to the center of town, at the plaza, Pikachu probably went there too," Hilda informed the teens.

"What for though?" Cilan questioned the brunette.

"People tend to have battles at the plaza for amusement and the people of Castelia go to watch, Pikachu must have heard and went off to see what was going on out of curiosity," Hilda stated as they ran past the people.

Ash and gang managed to get passed the heavy crowds of people and reached the plaza. Like Hilda had said, there was a battle going on, between a Samurott and a Gigalith. "Pikapi!" Pikachu rushed out of the crowds and spotted Ash.

"Pikachu, why'd you run off like that?" Ash asked the mouse as it climbed onto his shoulder.

"Pikachu pi pika," Pikachu pointed at the battlefield.

"eyHeYH

Hey!" Cilan and Iris said in surprise when they saw one of the battlers.

"It's…" Hilda became surprised when she saw the battler as well.

"Hilbert!" Ash and May exclaimed.

Hilbert heard his name coming from the crowd and saw the familiar faces. The brunette boy flashed a smile at them and waved, right now was clearly not the time to talk. When he spotted Hilda though, he felt his heart drop at that very moment and shifted back to the battle.

"Is that his Samurott?" Iris asked.

"Yes, it must have evolved from Dewott since we met at Pinwheel Forest," Cilan mentioned.

"I didn't expect him to be here," Hilda crossed her arms, smiling at the brown-haired boy.

The teens and their Pokémon shifted their attention to Hilda, "Hilda, you know Hilbert?" May asked her rival.

"Of course, we're childhood friends, we use to play all the time back in Nuvema Town and we started our journeys on the same day. I thought Hilbert would already be at Mistralton City by now, guess he's busy training though, typical," Hilda giggled.

"Who would've known," Ash turned from Hilda to Hilbert.

Hilda nodded and remembered the times she shared with Hilbert when they were younger. She would always beat him at everything and then he'd start crying, but the funny part was every time she kissed his cheek, he'd stop and they would begin playing. Hilda giggled again and watched Hilbert battle with her friends.

The teens then decided to eat their slices of pizza as they watched. Ash shared his slice with Pikachu while Iris shared hers with Axew. Like Hilda has said, the pizza they were eating turned out to be really good, the best any of them had ever eaten.

"Hilbert's Samurott is something else," Ash stated, amazed by the power Samurott displayed and took a bite of his pizza, then letting Pikachu have a bite as well.

"It has a strong defense and its speed is incredible," May watched with awe and ate a chunk of her slice.

"He's clearly gotten a lot of training done since we last saw him," Cilan analyzed Samurott and its abilities, then took a quick bite, taking a much smaller bite than the ravenous Ash and May.

"All of its attacks are much powerful now too," Iris ate her pizza with Axew at the same time.

Hilbert was up against a break dancer, who owned the Gigalith and was the one clearly losing the battle. "Gigalith, let's bust this Samurott with a Solarbeam!" the break dancer spoke with a very urban accent.

Hilbert pulled the brim of his hat down and grinned as Gigalith charged up its attack. Hilbert took a glimpse of his friends, but focused on Hilda for a bit and smiled, the brunette turned to the break dancer and Gigalith. The Rock-type finished charging up Solarbeam and unleashed the attack.

"Samurott, counter Solarbeam with Ice Beam!" Hilbert punched his fist forward.

Samurott roared and released the icy beam. It clashed with Solarbeam and an explosion erupted in the middle of the battlefield, amazing the crowd of people. Hilbert took advantage of the dust caused by the explosion and made another command, "Let's see if it gets up after you use Water Pulse!"

"Nah, you don't, Gigalith, let's use ya Iron Defense!" the break dancer ordered.

The Compressed Pokémon hardened itself instantly and took Water Pulse head on, but the Rock-type showed no signs of pain. Hilda smiled through the fading dust and spoke, "That was clever, but not clever enough."

"Watchu mean?" the break dancer raised an eyebrow, and then suddenly Samurott emerged from the ground and slashed Gigalith with Razor Shell.

Samurott slashed Gigalith right across with a samurai-like motion and the Rock-type dropped to the ground unconscious. Samurott put away its blade while the crowd praised Hilbert for his performance.

"Well done lil dude, thanks for a good battle," the break dancer thanked Hilbert for battling him.

"Anytime," Hilbert smiled at the break dancer and returned Samurott, thanking his Pokémon for the victory.

The crowd began to disperse and everyone returned to their previous activity. "Hilbert!" Ash ran up to the brunette with Pikachu.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu saluted the brunette boy as well.

"Hey Ash, Pikachu, how you been?" Hilbert greeted him kindly as he put Samurott's Pokéball away.

"Hey Hilbert!" May caught up with Ash and saluted the brunette.

"How's everything going?" Cilan also greeted the boy.

"We didn't expect running into you so soon," Iris stated.

"Neither did I, you guys seem to be doing better since the last time, you appear to have gotten stronger Ash," Hilbert stated, complimenting his rival.

Ash smiled confidently, "I'm here to win my third badge."

Hilbert grinned, "That's what I thought."

"Hi, Hilbert," Hilda appeared from behind Iris, waving charmingly at Hilbert.

Hilbert turned red and hid his face on the brim of his hat, "He…ey, Hilda."

Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan raised their eyebrows in confusion, wondering why Hilbert suddenly began to act strange. "What's up?" the Nuvema brunette asked politely.

Hilda stopped hiding under his hat and grinned, "Just getting some training done, how about you?"

"Exploring, getting some ribbons," Hilda smiled and winked at Hilbert, who sighed and turned away for a sec, not wanting to show his red face to the gang.

"Hilbert, you were incredible during that battle!" Ash praised Hilbert's battle skills.

"You're Dewott evolved into a Samurott, right?" May inquired the brunette boy.

Hilbert nodded, "That's right; Dewott was already on the edge of evolving when it battled Snivy, a few more battles and it evolved."

"I look forward to battling it soon," Ash made a fist of determination and smiled confidently.

"Speaking of battling, isn't there a gym battle waiting for you?" Iris crossed her arms, giving Ash the "what are you waiting for" look.

Ash grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, "Oh right." The auburn-eyed teen then looked at Hilbert and asked, "Hilbert, would you like to come with us to the Castelia Gym? Hilda is coming along and we know you're friends."

"It'll be fun," Hilda stood on the other side of Ash, smiling at Hilbert.

Hilbert wasn't sure what to say at first, but then looked at Hilda, and then Ash. He let out a deep breath and smiled, "Ok, thanks for the invite, Ash."

"Awesome," Ash smiled as the other friends cheered, especially Hilda.

"Let's get going, the Castelia Gym is just a few blocks from here," Hilbert informed them and they followed the boy.

"So how do you guys know Hilbert?" Hilda asked her friends.

"We met him in Pinwheel Forest and Ash battled him," May told the brunette girl.

"And how did you meet Hilda?" Hilbert reworded the same inquiry.

"At one of the Pokémon Contests, May and Hilda hit if off in the same, they even had a couple of battles," Ash informed the brunette boy.

"Ironically, both encounters ended in battles between rivals," Iris pointed out something blatant. Which made the set of rivals realize it was true and laughed at the irony.

As they walked, saw some strange men dressed in trench coats and covered their faces with Fedora hats. There were about a dozen of them as they walked to the gym and Ash could see them take a peek at them as they walked while May heard the men whispering things to each other. They ignored the strange group and kept walking.

"We're here, the Castelia Gym," Hilbert crossed his arms, grinning at Ash when they stopped at the entrance.

Ash smirked at Hilbert and spoke, "Well, here goes," the boy walked in with his friends and became surprised when he saw a botanical garden with a battlefield at the center.

"This place is like a forest," May looked at the trees and flowers with amazement.

"Burgh sure has a lot of spare time on his hands," Iris inspected the area with Axew.

Hilda smiled and felt the leaves, "I think it's a nice theme."

"Burgh has an artistic visionary for everything, even when it comes to planting," Hilbert stated, recalling the last time he was in the Castelia Gym.

"Indeed, these are all very unique plants, some of these aren't even found in Unova," Cilan realized there were plants from areas outside of Unova, like Hoenn and Kanto.

"But where's Burgh though?" Ash tried to detect the gym leader through the entire flora.

"Right here," Burgh came out of the garden with a Sewaddle on his arm.

The referee came out of the garden as well and took his position. "I've been waiting for you Ash Ketchum. Pikachu, Axew, Iris, Cilan, May, Hilbert, Hilda nice to see you all again soon," Burgh took a bow when he took his position.

"Nice to see you too, Burgh," May greeted the man, as did Iris, Cilan, and Axew.

"I understand why you four are here, but what brings you two here, Hilbert and Hilda?" the Bug-type gym leader questioned.

"Can't we just come and visit Nuvema's favorite artist, we've known you since we were children and you came to town to show us your art," Hilda answered the man, speaking with a friendly tone.

"We met up with Ash and the others here, they invited us to watch the battle," Hilbert responded.

"A fateful encounter, this will be an event worth painting," Burgh spread his arms out; delighted that he could have the teens together to watch a memorable battle.

Ash grinned confidently and spoke, "Let's get this started then," Ash took his position.

"Let's make this a Triple Battle, Ash, I will be fighting at my full potential this time, so don't expect things to be so easy," Burgh crossed his arms with three Pokéballs in his hands.

The raven-haired teen looked behind him and saw the gazes in his friends' eyes. Hilbert, Hilda, Cilan, Iris, and Axew gave them good luck stares and nodded at the boy. May reached for his hand and squeezed it; she nodded and went to sit on the bench with their friends.

Ash gave May a tender gaze and shifted it back to Burgh. "Bring it Burgh!" Ash threw three Pokéballs into the air. "Pikachu, if things get critical, you'll be up eventually ok?" Ash informed his partner.

"Pi," Pikachu grinned confidently, the mouse like his master, intended to win.

From the Pokéballs emerged Sewaddle, Scraggy, and Snivy, which surprised Iris, "Why did Ash pick Sewaddle and Scraggy, they've just been captured, do they have enough experience to battle Burgh?"

"I think Ash knows what he's doing," Hilbert said with a calm tone.

"Hilbert is right, Ash is aware of what he's doing and believes with the amount of practice they've had, they might just win," Cilan remained confident over Ash's choices.

Hilda raised an eyebrow, "Is Ash that confident in his abilities?"

"Whatever Ash has planned though, I know he'll win, he always comes out on top," May formed two fists and prepared to watch the battle with eagerness.

Burgh released Whirlipede, Dwebble, and Leavanny. The Bug-type Pokémon eyed their opponents arrogantly as they braced themselves for battle. "Let's begin!" the referee announced.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how strong you're Pokémon have become, especially Sewaddle," Burgh grinned and pointed his finger at Ash's Pokémon, "Whirlipede use Steamroller on Snivy, Dwebble use X-Scissor on Scraggy, and Leavanny use String Shot to trap Sewaddle!"

Ash smiled slyly, "We're ready, Snivy use your vines to carry you and Scraggy over your respective attackers to dodge and then let Whirlipede have it with a Leaf Blade! Scraggy, you use Headbutt on Dwebble, and Sewaddle use Razor Leaf to break that string!"

"Snivy!" Snivy nodded and used her vines to carry Scraggy and push themselves over the attacks aiming at them. Whirlipede and X-Scissor missed their targets while Sewaddle easily canceled out the String Shot.

"Scraggy!" Scraggy landed behind Dwebble and used Headbutt.

"Counter Headbutt with Rock Wrecker!" Burgh extended his arm forward and Scraggy crashed against the ground when Dwebble sent the Dark-type flying with a giant boulder.

Snivy then charged forward with its glowing tail and aimed at Whirlipede, but Burgh remained calm. "Whirlipede, stop Snivy with Poison Sting."

Whirlipede released the attack, but Snivy's blade easily deflected Whirlipede's attack and sent the Curlipede Pokémon flying back a bit, but it quickly gained its composure. Ash smirked at Burgh and spoke, "It'll take more than a simple attack to Snivy."

Snivy dropped in front of Burgh and smirked. Burgh chuckled and spoke, "I see that, but now, Leavanny, use Hyper Beam on Sewaddle! Let's see you avoid that attack."

"Watch me, Sewaddle, swing yourself out of danger using String Shot," Ash grinned confidently. Sewaddle used String Shot on one of the tree branches and swung itself over the Hyper Beam and narrowly dodged it.

Burgh raised an eyebrow and then smiled, "Well that was smart."

"Wow, I didn't expect that to happen, I thought Ash was a goner," Hilda commented.

"This is why there's more to Ash than we know, his battle style is based on unpredictability and I realized that when we battled," Hilbert stated.

May raised her fist in the air and cheered, "And there's more where that came from!"

Hilda shook her head in agreement and watched the battle with intrigue; the coordinator thought she could pick a skill or two up from the battle. "Sewaddle, use Tackle on Leavanny while it takes time to recharge!" Ash extended his arm to the left.

"Dwebble, get between them and use Protect," Burgh smirked, "And Whirlipede, use Steamroller to take out Scraggy and Snivy!"

"Snivy use Leaf Storm and then use your vines to launch Scraggy at Whirlipede. Scraggy, then use Headbutt!" Ash pointed at Whirlipede.

Sewaddle's Tackle failed and the Bug-type moved back as the barrier protected Burgh's two Bug-type Pokémon. On the other side of the battlefield, Snivy unleashed Leaf Storm and started hitting the incoming Whirlipede with the attack.

At first Whirlipede easily countered it, but then stopped when small injuries started to form. The Poison-type rolled out and glared at Snivy for the weak, but still effective attack. Snivy then wasted no time in using its vines to send Scraggy launching at Whirlipede like a missile.

"Sniiiivy!" Snivy picked up Scraggy and yelled out when it threw Scraggy.

"Scraggy!" Scraggy screamed as it aimed its head at the surprised Whirlipede.

Whirlipede flew back and crashed against the dirt from the strong Headbutt. "Impossible, I understand now. The Leaf Storm was never meant to deal damage, it was only meant to draw Whirlipede out of hiding-," Burgh stated, but then got cut by Ash.

"So Scraggy could land a direct hit with Headbutt," Ash smirked, impressing Burgh with the clever technique.

"Ash is doing amazing, his strategy is focusing more on teamwork and tactic than speed and attack," Iris praised Ash's strategy.

Cilan nodded, "Ash has been practicing Triple Battle a lot since we met Burgh and he's focused more on Scraggy and Sewaddle than we think."

"Now Snivy, use Attract on Whirlipede while it's still down!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"Dwebble, stop Snivy with X-Scissor and Leavanny, make sure Scraggy doesn't get in the way by using String Shot!" Burgh pointed at Snivy in particular, knowing the result of Attract would be deadly.

"Snivy keep going, Scraggy prepare to use yourself as a shield, and Sewaddle, use Razor Leaf to stop both String Shot and X-Scissor!" Ash reached his arm outward.

Burgh raised an eyebrow, "How on earth do you plan stopping two attacks with one?"

"Watch," Ash smiled confidently. Snivy winked and released a ring of hearts aiming for the groaning Whirlipede. Dwebble unleashed a large X at Snivy, but Scraggy got in the way, ready to protect its comrade, but Leavanny also used String Shot to stop Scraggy's resistance.

Suddenly, Sewaddle jumped between the double attack and Scraggy. The Bug-type released a barrage of sharp leaves, but the shocking part was the Razor Leaf split into two different sets. One set of Razor Leaf canceled out String Shot and the other exploded on contact with X-Scissor, canceling out the attack.

Burgh gasped with shock, "But how?"

Ash turned to May and winked at her. May returned the wink, knowing Ash was thanking her for teaching him and Sewaddle her secret technique, _the student can also take the role of the mentor when necessary too, _May thought and grinned.

Iris, Cilan and the others were also surprised by the technique, but unlike Hilda and Hilbert, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Axew were aware of where Ash learned the move. Meanwhile, Attract encircled Whirlipede and the Poison-type's eyes turned into hearts.

"No matter, Whirlipede will have to attack the other two…" Burgh muttered. "Dwebble, use X-Scissor on Scraggy, Leavanny, take Snivy down with Leaf Storm, and Whirlipede take care of Sewaddle with Poison Sting!"

"Snivy, become a shield for Scraggy and Sewaddle if Whirlipede ever targets them and use Leaf Storm to counter Leavanny. Sewaddle, use Bug Bite after Snivy gives the signal and Leavanny's attack stops, Scraggy use your molted skin to defend yourself against Dwebble and use our secret strategy when you feel like it's time," Ash instructed his trio of Pokémon.

Burgh grinded his teeth when Whirlipede failed to attack when Snivy got between it and Sewaddle. The snake Pokémon then wasted no time in canceling out Leaf Storm with its own Leaf Storm, causing an explosion in the middle of the battlefield. Meanwhile, Scraggy lifted its skin and defended itself against Dwebble's deadly attack.

"Scraaaaaggy!" Scraggy cried in pain as an explosion occurred when it came into contact with X-Scissor.

Burgh crossed his arms in delight, believing Scraggy was down for the count, but all of a sudden, the Dark-type, although wounded, emerged out of the smoke and used Headbutt on Whirlipede. The powerful Headbutt was enough to send Whirlipede flying back against Dwebble, making the two hit the ground together.

"Snivy, use Vine Whip to send those two flying at Leavanny!" Ash made a fist and Snivy leaped into the air. The Grass-type used its whips to send the two round Pokémon flying against Leavanny like bowling balls, but Burgh reacted quickly.

"Dodge Leavanny," Burgh ordered and Leavanny nimbly avoided the two crashing Pokémon.

However, Snivy then gave Sewaddle a nod and the Bug-type used String Shot on a branch to swing itself across the battlefield. Its teeth began to glow and it landed on Leavanny's head, biting its final evolutionary form.

Leavanny cried in pain as Burgh's eyes widened with surprise, failing to foresee yet another of Ash's tricks. Leavanny swung its head and Sewaddle let go, dropping on the ground safely, Leavanny glared at the little bug, having taken a super effective attack, but the battle was far from over. Whirlipede and Dwebble recovered as well, preparing to continue as well.

"I don't get it, at least Whirlipede should have gone down by now, how are they able to keep going," Hilbert grinded his teeth, wishing to see his friend win after seeing so many impressive techniques.

"This is going to take longer than we thought, Burgh's Pokémon have a very high defense so it'll take more hits to bring them down," Cilan explained the reason for Burgh being able to continue.

"This time I'm going to strike you down Ash, Leavanny, use String Shot to wrap the trio together, Dwebble use X-Scissor on any of the three if they counter, and Whirlipede, charge up a Solarbeam," Burgh smirked at Ash, making his next tactic clear.

Ash grinded his teeth, it was as if a firearm was pointed at his Pokémon, X-Scissor would try to hit any of them if they moved to counter, _I know it's a risk, but if I want to beat Burgh I have no other choice, _Ash thought in his head. "Snivy, use Leaf Blade to stop String Shot from wrapping around the three of you, Sewaddle, use Tackle on Whirlipede while it's charging and Scraggy, provide cover against X-Scissor with your molted skin."

Ash's three Pokémon nodded, Scraggy was certain it wouldn't be able to handle another X-Scissor, but someone had to take one for the team. "What is Ash doing, Scraggy is already badly beaten from the last X-Scissor, another one will knock it out," Iris clasped her hands together with angst.

"Scraggy is taking the hit for the team; they can't risk getting hit by Solarbeam," May stated the reason for Ash's actions, knowing Solarbeam could result in favor of Burgh.

Burgh raised an eyebrow, wondering if Ash knew what he was doing, but he let the auburn-eyed teen continue. "Dwebble!" Dwebble cried out and released the X-shaped attack. Leavanny tried to wrap the trio with String Shot, but Snivy easily cut through with Leaf Blade while Whirlipede charged up Solarbeam.

When Snivy used Leaf Blade, it was ready to take on the X-Scissor, but Scraggy leaped in front of the Grass-type and took the hit. "Scraaaaaggy!" Scraggy cried out as it flew back against the dirt.

Scraggy landed by Ash's feet with swirl eyes and Ash grinded his teeth. "Scraggy is unable to battle!" the referee declared and Ash returned Scraggy. Pikachu looked at Ash and the boy nodded sideways, "Not yet pal, I need to save you for the critical part."

"Pika," Pikachu sighed, eager to battle, but understood his trainer's orders.

"It was a necessary hit, if Scraggy hadn't done that, Burgh would have beaten Ash's Pokémon to the ground," Hilbert understood why it was essential for Scraggy to take the blow.

Ash smiled at Scraggy's Pokéball and spoke, "Scraggy, you were awesome out there, thank you for protecting Snivy. You've earned yourself a good rest."

As Sewaddle charged at Whirlipede, Burgh spoke, "Ash, I realize know what Scraggy's purpose was and I understand that desperate times call for desperate measures, but do you really think you can win?"

"I'm counting on it, Oshawott, it's your turn!" Ash retained his confidence and summoned Oshawott.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott smirked at Burgh's Pokémon, ready to fight against them once more and win this time.

"We'll see, Whirlipede, attack!" Burgh extended his arm forward, disregarding Oshawott's appearance.

Whirlipede unleashed the full charged SolarBeam at Sewaddle, but Ash reacted just in time. "Sewaddle, use String Shot to dodge!" Ash commanded, Sewaddle quickly swung over Solarbeam and landed safely on the ground, but Sewaddle and its trainer gasped when they saw Whirlipede approaching with Steamroller.

"The Solarbeam was nearly a diversion, now I will turn the tables," Burgh chuckled.

"Snivy, get in there and protect Sewaddle!" Ash ordered, remembering Whirlipede wouldn't harm Snivy.

"Did you forget about Dwebble?" Burgh smirked, making Ash's eyes widen.

Ash saw an incoming X-Scissor unleashed by Dwebble, but the raven-haired boy had a plan to counter, "Oshawott, stop X-Scissor with Razor Shell!"

Oshawott nodded and his blade clashed with the X attack, the two attacks caused an explosion, but Oshawott flipped back and landed safely. All of a sudden, an incoming Hyper Beam shot Snivy before it could reach Sewaddle and the Grass-type was sent flying against one of the trees.

Sewaddle was unable to dodge Steamroller and Whirlipede sent Sewaddle flying against the ground. "Ash, you're going to have to react quicker if you wish to win," Burgh crossed his arms and smirked.

Ash looked Snivy and Sewaddle, Sewaddle groaned as it got up, but Snivy gave Ash a smile and dropped to the ground. "Snivy is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

Ash sighed and returned Snivy to its Pokéball, thanking it for its fantastic job. Pikachu and Ash looked at each other again, but Pikachu could tell it wasn't his time yet and turned to the battlefield. Ash apologized to Snivy for not being faster and put away its Pokéball, Ash glared at Burgh and spoke, "You may have taken out Snivy and Scraggy, but I still got four more Pokémon at my disposal, Tepig, let's go!" Ash released his Fire-type.

"Tepig!" Tepig grinned and then huffed when it saw that it was up against Burgh's Pokémon.

"Let's settle this," Burgh grinned cunningly, but before the gym leader could say anything else, Ash's Sewaddle began to evolve.

Everyone's eyes widened with amazement as Sewaddle began glowing and changed shape. "It's evolving," Hilda stated.

"Evolving into what?" May asked, intrigued by the evolution.

Before Cilan, Iris or Hilbert could answer, Sewaddle revealed itself, but it was no longer a Sewaddle, now it was larger and had a cocoon of leaves enveloping it. It was round, yellow, and had a crescent slit in the leaves so it could see. "It's a Swadloon," Burgh stated with astonishment.

"Swadloon?" Ash was curious to learn more about Pokémon and used his Pokédex.

"Swadloon, the Leaf-Wrapped Pokémon and the evolved form of Sewaddle, Swadloon's body is covered in leaves which protect it from the cold. In forests where Swadloon live, the trees and grass grow very well," the machine stated with a mechanic voice.

"I knew Sewaddle was bound to evolve, it was extremely high-powered for its stage, now I can battle its true power," Burgh smirked; ready to battle the newly evolved Pokémon.

Ash smiled confidently, "Alright Swadloon, let's show Burgh how strong you are."

Swadloon nodded and waited for its order, after seeing its teammates go down, the Bug-type felt like it was required to evolve in order to win and now, it was ready to strike back.

"This getting interesting, I wonder how Ash will fare with Swadloon on its side," Hilbert said, mentioning his intrigue.

"Ok, Oshawott, use Aqua Jet to take down Dwebble! Tepig, use Flame Charge on Whirlipede, and Swadloon, use String Shot on Leavanny to trap it!" Ash punched his fist at the air.

"Leavanny, use String Shot to tie it with Swadloon's and then pull it over, Whirlipede, use Steamroller to counter Tepig, and Dwebble, use Protect!" Burgh made his commands.

Oshawott attempted to hit Dwebble, but the Bug-type's barrier prevented the otter from inflicting any damage and Oshawott flipped backward, upset with the fail. Tepig and Whirlipede charged at each other, determined to see who the winner would be and they entered a standstill during the clash. Swadloon used String Shot, but Leavanny used its own to connect the two, and then the Nurturing Pokémon pulled its string and sent Swadloon flying but swinging the unified string.

"Take advantage of Swadloon being in midair and use Hyper Beam!" Burgh exclaimed.

"Swadloon try to counter with Razor Leaf!" Ash instructed, but instead, when Leavanny released the red beam, Swadloon countered with a green energy ball, causing an explosion between them.

"That was Energy Ball!" Iris shouted with surprise.

"Talk about just in time," Hilda said, glad Ash's Swadloon had found an efficient way to counter.

"Swadloon just learned that, now Burgh is really going to have a harder time battling Ash," May made a fist; confident about the way the battle was turning out.

Ash grinned with content, _Energy Ball…awesome! Now let's take advantage of the smoke, _"Swadloon, Bug Bite on Leavanny!"

Swadloon dropped on Leavanny's head like a missile and bit its evolved form, making the Nurturing Pokémon cry in pain. Burgh grinded his teeth as Swadloon dropped in front of Leavanny, grinning with confidence.

The standstill between Whirlipede and Tepig ended in with Tepig winning once again, but this time Whirlipede crashed against the ground with an unconscious look. "Whirlipede is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

Burgh returned Whirlipede and smiled at it. The artist quickly turned to Ash, "I didn't expect such a turn of events with your new Pokémon Ash, but believe me, this is not over."

"Give it your all Burgh," Ash smirked, wanting Burgh to battle at his best.

"Dwebble, use Dig," Burgh smirked, "And Leavanny, use a divided Leaf Storm on Oshawott!"

"Divided?" Ash had a confused look on, but then realized what was going to happen.

"Swadloon, use Razor Leaf to stop Leaf Storm!" Ash extended his arm to the right as he yelled.

Swadloon did just that, but the Leaf Storm split into two and the other set charged at Oshawott, alarming Ash's friends. _He's using our own trick against us, _May said in her mind and her eyes widened.

Iris, Pikachu, Cilan, Hilbert, and Hilda were also as surprised while Ash frowned. "Oshawott, deflect as many leaves as you can with Razor Shell, Tepig, get in there quick and use Flame Charge to stop the Leaf Storm!" Ash shouted with a demanding tone.

"There's your mistake," Burgh chuckled. All of a sudden, Dwebble burst underneath Tepig and sent the pig crashing against the ground.

"Teeepig!" Tepig cried as it dropped to the ground, groaning in pain.

Ash became frustrated as Swadloon tried to fight one set of Leaf Storm while the other charged at Oshawott. The otter struggled to deflect all the leaves with its blades, some it managed to deflect, but others slashed at the Water-type. When the wave of energy leaves stopped, Oshawott gasped for air and dropped to its knees.

"Finish Swadloon with Hyper Beam," Burgh extended his arm forward. Ash, Pikachu, and the other teens gasped as Leavanny used Hyper Beam to destroy its Leaf Storm and blast Swadloon.

The beam vaporized all the leaves and shot Swadloon into the ground, causing a powerful explosion. When the smoke cleared, Swadloon smirked at the ceiling and then its eyes turned into swirls. "Swadloon is unable to battle," the ref stated.

Burgh chuckled and Ash returned his determined Bug-type. As Ash held its ball in his hand, he smiled, "Swadloon, thank you for a great effort, you were incredible and I think you deserve you're rest," the auburn-eyed teen grinned, putting away Swadloon. Ash turned to Pikachu and the two smiled, Pikachu grinned determinedly, without a word Pikachu rushed to the battlefield with a determined gaze.

The Bug-type user smiled and began to speak, "This is it, no more Pokémon, and I'm going to finish this Ash. It was a good battle."

"Burgh, I came here to win and I won't afford to lose, my Pokémon are going to battle the best they can and I'll be backing them up all the way, the Insect Badge is mine!" Ash proclaimed with strong confidence, at this point, Ash had his mind revolved only the battle, it was just him, Burgh and their Pokémon, it was the final part of the battle and Ash didn't plan to lose.

"Then let's go all out, Dwebble, use Dig, Leavanny, use String Shot on Pikachu!" Burgh extended his arm upward.

"Tepig, remain alert, Pikachu, you too, and Oshawott stop the String Shot with Razor Shell!" Ash commanded loudly.

Oshawott leaped between Pikachu and String Shot, the otter easily sliced through the string, but Burgh continued smirking. "Attack Tepig, Dwebble!" Burgh revealed who he was really targeting.

Ash grinded his teeth, Tepig was clearly unable to determine the spot from where Dwebble would strike and he spoke, "Oshawott, stop Dwebble quick with Aqua Jet!"

When Dwebble burst out, Tepig narrowly dodged and Oshawott charged at the Bug-type with full speed. The Water-type attack sent Dwebble crashing against the ground, knocking it out for good. "Dwebble is unable to battle!" the referee waved a flag.

Burgh gasped, having failed to see Oshawott's fierce and fast Aqua Jet. The gym leader smiled at Dwebble's Pokéball once it returned it and thanked it for its efforts. "Burgh is down to one Pokémon, and Ash has the advantage, it's in the bag," Hilbert made a fist of certainty.

"How will he get through Leavanny's attacks though, it's fast, strong, and has a good defense," Hilda stated, mentioning what made Leavanny, Burgh's strongest Pokémon.

"That's true, how will Ash beat Leavanny now?" Iris placed her finger on her chin as Axew wondered with her.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Cilan crossed his arms, pondering in thought as well.

May watched Pikachu, Oshawott, and Tepig, then at Ash. _Knowing Ash for so long, after learning all my techniques from him, after training and battling with him, I think I have an idea as to what he has planned, _the brunette thought in her mind, grinning confidently.

"This is it Ash, time to end this, Leavanny, use String Shot!" Burgh demanded.

"Gladly," Ash smirked, "Oshawott stop it with Razor Shell, Tepig, use Ember on Leavanny. Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Ash declared his instructions.

"Snatch that shell and use Oshawott as a shield from Ember!" Burgh pointed at Oshawott, alerting Ash and his Pokémon. Before Oshawott could stop Razor Shell, Leavanny released its String Shot quickly and snatched it from the otter. The Nurturing Pokémon threw it on the other side of battle and wrapped its string around Oshawott.

Leavanny launched the tied Oshawott at Ember and countered the attack, making the otter drop to the ground as Ember canceled out. "Now use Protect," Burgh ordered calmly. Pikachu's Electro Ball failed to hit Leavanny in time and instead exploded on contact with the barrier.

"No way, you used Oshawott against Ember," Ash stared with disbelief as Oshawott groaned and got up.

"Indeed I did, but prepare for this, Leavanny swing over the three Pokémon with String Shot and shower them with Leaf Storm!" Burgh extended his arm forward.

"What?!" Ash got caught off guard by the command.

Leavanny used its string on a branch and swung over Ash's Pokémon. Leavanny then unleashed a Lead Storm on the trio. Ash grinded his teeth and made a command, "Tepig, use Ember to counter, Pikachu, protect yourself and Oshawott with Thunder, Oshawott, don't move an inch!" The auburn-eyed teen knew Oshawott didn't even have its scalchop to protect itself, so it had no choice, but to rely on Pikachu. Unfortunately, Leaf Storm shot out to quick and none of them were able to react in time. The trio flew all over the battlefield, Oshawott landed next to his scalchop, Tepig crashed against the dirt, while Pikachu landed near a tree.

Tepig had an unconscious gaze in his eyes and Oshawott tried to stand up while picking up its scalchop, but the otter had no energy left and dropped to the ground. "Tepig and Oshawott are unable to battle!' the referee said the obvious. Ash jaw dropped in frustration, realizing he was down to one Pokémon.

"The Dig used on Tepig and the Leaf Storm that hit Oshawott, left them weak, Leavanny was able to easily finish the job, it's a good thing Leavanny has a high Special Attack to use Leaf Storm so much. All that's left is Pikachu," Burgh smiled.

Ash grinded his teeth, not making a comment. Iris, Cilan, Hilbert, and Hilda dropped their jaws, becoming aware of how dire the situation was getting. May remained calm as usual though, she was certain Pikachu and Ash could defeat Burgh and Leavanny.

"That technique the String Swing, you mimicked Swadloon's technique," Ash said, knowing his own technique was responsible for the last attack Burgh used. Ash returned Oshawott and Tepig, thanking them for their efforts, but quickly focused on Burgh after.

"That's the thing about being an artist; you get inspired and come up with something. My Leavanny was able to amplify the original technique with higher speed and power, I knew by doing that, I'd gain leverage," Burgh smirked and spoke with a tranquil tone.

Pikachu stood up and glared at Leavanny, Ash noticed and then frowned at Burgh, "We're far from done Burgh, Pikachu, use Quick Attack on Leavanny!" Ash pointed at his opponent.

Pikachu braced itself and charged at incredible speed. "Protect," Burgh crossed his arms as Leavanny used a barrier that sent Pikachu flying back.

"You're out of tricks Ash, time to end this, Leavanny, use Hyper Beam!" Burgh extended his arm to the left while making his final move.

_I know we didn't practice this move too much, but I'm betting my badge on it_, Ash said to himself in his head. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt-Electro Ball!"

"A combination attack," Burgh noted after he heard the name.

Leavanny released Hyper Beam as Pikachu shot out Electro Ball from its tail. Pikachu sent the attack flying against Hyper Beam and frowned, it began to charge up electricity and shot out Thunderbolt with a powerful cry, "Piiiiikaaachuu!" the mouse shouted as the Thunderbolt charged up Electro Ball as it charged at Hyper Beam. Thunderbolt significantly increased the size and power of Electro Ball.

Electro Ball bashed through Hyper Beam, shocking Burgh and it hit Leavanny head on, causing a large explosion in front of the man. Hilbert, Hilda, Iris, Cilan, and Axew's jaws dropped when they saw the attack, while May grinned. "Way to go Ash!" May made a fist of joy and stood up from the bench.

The blast and the light faded, leaving nothing but an unconscious Leavanny in front of Burgh. Pikachu let out deep breaths, tired from having used up so much power. Ash smiled confidently and nodded at his partner, who grinned confidently as well.

"Leavanny is unable to battle, the victor is Ash!" the ref declared.

"Incredible," said Burgh, returning Leavanny with a face of disbelief. The man got his composure and turned to Ash; he smiled confidently and took out the Insect Badge.

"Excellent job Ash, you've proven yourself worthy of the Insect Badge," Burgh grinned and nodded with approval, the Castelia Gym Leader threw the badge at Ash, which he caught and the auburn-eyed teen held it proudly.

He lifted it into the air and cheered, "Alright, I got my Insect Badge!"

Pikachu got on Ash's shoulder and jumped with joy, "Pi pikachu!"

"Ash, that was phenomenal!" Hilbert ran up to the boy with his other friends.

"I've never seen anything," Hilda stated.

"Mmmmmuah!" May embarrassed him by rushing up and kissing his cheek with love.

Ash laughed as his face turn red and spoke to May, "Thanks May, your techniques helped out a lot."

"Anytime Ashy," May winked at him, making Ash blush and the others laughed.

"We didn't expect to use Pikachu's new attack like that so soon," Cilan stated Pikachu's final move.

"Yeah, it was really something else," Iris complimented Ash and Pikachu.

"Ax axew ax," Axew told Ash and Pikachu, complimenting them like her trainer.

"We weren't sure about it either, but it worked, thanks a lot pal," Ash smiled at his friend and scratched the back of his ear.

"Chaaaa," Pikachu grinned happily.

"The whole battle and your Pokémon surely were something extraordinary," Burgh walked over to them, crossing his arms and smiling at the teens, impressed by Ash's Pokémon.

Ash nodded and grinned at Burgh, "Thank you Burgh, you're Pokémon were really tough too."

"Congrats on the new badge, Ash," a familiar voice called the boy and they all turned around to see Professor Juniper with Ash's Tranquil on her shoulder. Next to her were Bianca and a very recognizable man.

"Professor Juniper, Bianca!" All of them stated with surprise, except for Burgh.

"Hey guys," Bianca waved at her friends.

"What are you doing here B?" Hilda asked her and Hilbert's childhood friend.

"We thought you might be at the lab with Professor Juniper," Hilbert put his hands behind his head.

"We thought the same about you professor," May approached the woman with Ash and the others.

"Looker, and what are you doing here?" Ash asked with surprise in his eyes.

Professor Juniper, Burgh, and Looker began to chuckle, confusing the teens, except Bianca. "First Ash let me congratulate you on getting the Insect Badge. Second, everyone I'm Looker, a member of the International Police."

"International Police!" the teens exclaimed, with the exception of Ash of course.

"Ash, how do you this guy?" May asked her boyfriend.

Ash chuckled, disregarding May's poor manners when she used the term, "this guy", and spoke, "I met him with Dawn and Brock back in Sinnoh, back then he was investigating criminal activity regarding Team Galactic."

"Oh," May replied and turned to Looker, "Nice to meet you, I'm May, from Hoenn."

"And I can tell you're the apple of Ash's eyes after seeing your little stunt. Nice to meet you, May," Looker chuckled, referring to the kiss May gave Ash on the cheek.

"I'm Iris," Iris greeted Looker with a smile.

"My name is Cilan," Cilan introduced himself.

"The name's Hilbert," Hilbert still had his arms behind his back.

"And I'm Hilda," Hilda introduced herself as well.

"Nice to meet you all," Looker smiled at them.

"It's nice to have the three of you here again after so long," Burgh looked at Bianca, Professor Juniper, and Looker.

Ash turned to Burgh in surprise, "Burgh, you know Looker?"

"Of course, all the Unova Gym Leaders know Looker from way back, he's well-known by the other gym leaders and Pokémon League members in the other regions as well," Burgh stated.

"But what is an International Police Officer doing here in Castelia, and why are you here Professor Juniper?" Iris asked the emerald-eyed woman.

"Yeah, what brings you here too Bianca?" Cilan questioned the blonde-haired girl.

"Not that we don't mind you coming here to congratulate me for the badge," Ash placed his arms behind his head and chuckled arrogantly.

"I don't think they're here for that Ash," May sighed and frowned at Ash for his attitude. Ash laughed nervously and dropped the cocky demeanor, receiving a frown from Pikachu as well because of his immaturity.

"We're happy that you won Ash," Bianca stated.

"But as happy as we are for being here for it," Professor Juniper spoke.

"There's another reason we came here and Burgh, Professor Juniper, and Bianca volunteered to help," Looker finished the statement.

Ash, May, and the others teens tilted their heads in confusion. "What would that be?" Ash inquired.

"I'll explain soon enough, sadly, there seems to be no way to draw you out of it," Looker focused his stern gaze on Ash and May, baffling them even more as to what he meant and confused the other teens as well. Professor Juniper, Bianca, and Burgh seemed to be the only ones aware of the unknown situation.

All of a sudden, the ground beneath them began to shake and a loud explosion was heard, causing the windows of the Castelia Gym to crack. "Actually, forget my explanation; you're about to find out right now!" Looker stated and rushed out of the gym with everyone behind him.

"What just caused that?" Iris ran, panic in her eyes.

"Whatever it was, it didn't sound friendly," Cilan stated, grinding his teeth.

Ash and May looked at each other sternly and then nodded, preparing for the worst. The couple could somehow sense that something bad was about to happen.

**Kind of a cliffhanger at the end huh, don't worry I'll update next weekend lol. I hope you enjoyed the gym battle, the little Advanceshipping scene, and the reunion of friends! Pikachu's role in the battle would have been longer, but I think it was getting way too long so I cut it, besides, Pikachu is insanely powerful, so it's no surprise he left Leavanny in the dust. Also clearly, something big is about to happen, but I'm saying anything cause I'm such a horrible person. Anyway, remember to REVIEW and PM if you wish, I just love it every time I get REVIEWS btw hahaha. So I'll see you guys next time, see ya and thanks for reading!**


	20. Let the Games Begin Pt 1

Chapter 20: Aggressive Expansion Pt. 1

As Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Hilda, Hilbert, Looker, Professor Juniper, and Burgh ran, May spoke, "Something terrible must be going on," the brunette stated as she ran with the others to where Burgh believed the explosion came from.

Ash nodded his head and looked at the people running away, screaming, with a concerned look, "Whatever it is, we have to find out." The auburn-eyed teen ran beside his beloved and Pikachu on his shoulder, the trio gazed at people screaming as if they were under attack by a giant monster and aliens, they returned their attention towards running with the rest of the gang.

"What could be causing all these people to freak out so much, nothing seems too odd about the city," Iris said, trying to understand the reason for the mass hysteria.

"Like Ash said, we have no choice, but to find out," Cilan told the purple-haired teen.

"Hilbert, I'm kind of frightened, what could be going on," Hilda gave Hilbert a scared look as she ran.

Hilbert smiled at her caringly and spoke, "Don't worry Hilda, everything will be alright."

"Just a bit more to go and we should be there," Bianca told the other teens, since she knew more than them.

"Thanks for letting us know Bianca," Ash grinned at the lab assistant, who nodded and smiled.

"B seems to know more than we do, should we ask what's up." Hilbert questioned Hilda.

Hilda shook her head sideways, "No, we'll be there soon enough I guess and find out for ourselves.

As they all ran through the city, they reached a crossroad with lots of billboards and giant TV screens, which showed commercials about TV shows and sales going on in stores around Castelia City, but the group came to a quick halt when Looker stopped and gasped. "Stop," the police officer extended his arm out to stop the gang for a second, he hid behind a building leading to the center of the crossroad and told the others to hide behind the corner of the building as well. People rushed passed their hiding spot, yelling, sweating, and panting.

"You can take a look, but be as quiet as possible," Burgh muttered to them and they all nodded.

When Ash and the others looked at the center from the corner of the building, they saw people trying turn away from Team Plasma, Team Neo Plasma, and Team Rocket, but some would get caught and be forced to drop on the cement, it was like a riot, people tried to fight back, but the grunts and their Pokémon beat them to the grunts without mercy. Past the crowds of criminals and citizens fighting, they saw large red stairs with people on their knees and hands behind their back, behind them stood Team Neo Plasma Grunts with their Pokémon, the Pokémon threatened to attack any of the hostages who dared to take action. They inspected the rest of the crossroad and saw many more hostages on their knees, on the cement floor; some hostages had Team Plasma Grunts, Team Rocket Grunts, or Team Neo Plasma Grunts behind them as well. The entire crossroad was filled with hostages and criminals, there were at least a hundred people being held captive by the villainous Rockets and Plasmas.

Among the group were a number of Team Neo Plasma, Team Rocket, and Team Plasma members and they stood beside familiar people. Ash and May's eyes widened when they saw N in front of a unit of Team Plasma members, it looked like he was confronting Ghetsis by the position he stood in front of the Neo Plasma Sage, Ash and the others easily remembered Ghetsis as the man in the black robe they met in Striaton City. Next to Ghetsis was Zinzolin from Nacrene City, and a blond-haired man with a lab coat, he seemed to be holding a device in his left hand and tapped several buttons from time to time. Next to Ghetsis, Zinzolin, and the other man, stood a brown-haired man with a button-up coat, his hair was neatly combed and he had a diabolical grin as he stood in front of Team Rocket operatives, among them were Jessie, James, Meowth, and Pierce.

"It's like a bad guy reunion, but who are some of them?" Iris mentioned and asked, knowing all of them, including N spelled trouble.

Looker glared from the corner of the wall at the villains and spoke, "I'm sure you've already met Ghetsis, Zinzolin, and N, according to reports from the police. The other two men standing there are Colress and Giovanni, Colress is the leader of Team Neo Plasma and Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket."

While everyone became stunned by what Looker told them, Ash was the only one who tried to remember who Giovanni was, recognizing him from somewhere, _I know him, but where?_ His eyes displayed further shock when he saw Trip among the hostages.

Pikachu quickly noticed from Ash's shoulder and whispered, "Pikachu…"

"Yeah I see him too pal," Ash nodded to the mouse.

He gazed at May and then whispered, "May, look, it's Trip."

"Trip?" May raised an eyebrow, and took a look, much to her surprise; Trip was there, glaring at the grunt that held him captive.

Iris, Cilan, Professor Juniper, Bianca, Hilbert, and Hilda spotted Trip as well. "They have Trip hostage," Hilbert grinded his teeth in frustration.

"Wonder if his arrogance let him get into trouble again," Hilda frowned as she looked at the boy in the orange hoodie.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Bianca stated, sighing in the process.

"You three know Trip?" Iris whispered, knowing now wasn't the time, but asked anyway.

"Of course Iris, we grew up with Trip; he's a childhood friend of Bianca, Hilbert, Cheren, and mine. He was always the cocky one and we tend to make fun of him because of that," Hilda explained to Iris and the others as to how the three of them knew Trip.

"Makes sense since you all must have grown up in the same town," Cilan stated his conclusion.

Ash grinded his teeth and ran out of the corner of the building with Pikachu, yelling, "I have to help him!"

"Ash, wait!" May called out, but the boy continued.

"That dumb kid is going-," Iris tried to say something, but got interrupted by Professor Juniper.

"To get himself killed," the green-eyed woman stated and ran after him with the others. May ran the fastest, desperate to reach her lover.

"Let's go," Burgh instructed and they followed.

As pushed through the grunts and citizens wrestling, he yelled, "Trip!" while he ran toward the center of the crossroad.

The group of criminal organizations heard the boy and shifted to his direction. The grunts stopped attacking the people, turning their attention to Ash and Pikachu. N turned around when Ghetsis stopped looking at him and his eyes widened when he saw the raven-haired teen, "Ash…" the leader of Team Plasma mumbled.

Ghetsis, Colress, Giovanni, Pierce, Zinzolin, and their underlings began chuckling when they saw the auburn-eyed teen. Trip glared at Ash when he saw him and spoke, "You fool, why did you come, get out!"

"You don't tell me what to do, I'm here to help," Ash frowned at his rival and then glared at the people in charge.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu yelled at Trip for not caring about them coming to help.

"Ash, don't ever run off like that!" May shook his shoulders in anger when she caught up to him, making the boy uncomfortable and gave her an apologetic look as she shook him.

Looker and the others also caught up and glared at the villainous groups when they reached Ash and May. Ghetsis chuckled at the sight of the heroes and began to speak; he stood in front of the Neo Plasma and Rocket organizations, "Look my fellow comrades, our friends have finally come here to die."

May, Ash, Hilda, Hilbert, Iris, Cilan, and Bianca ignored the man as they looked over to Trip. "Trip, how did you end up getting caught?" Hilbert asked his old friend.

Trip sighed and gave Hilbert a stern look, "I was just here minding my own business until a blast shot out of the sky, all of a sudden these crooks revealed themselves, turns out they were camouflaging by wearing trench coats and fedora hats, they quickly started attacking and taking people hostage, some managed to escape, not all as you can see." Trip turned to the hundreds of hostages surrounding the crossroad like an army does during an invasion.

The teens turned back to the chuckling bosses, the only one who seemed stressed out among them was N, who grinded his teeth at the sight of Ghetsis's evil grin. "We're so sorry for disrupting the peace, but desperate times, call for desperate measures," Colress spoke, smirking at the heroes.

"After all, how else can the job get done if we don't have hostages," Giovanni crossed his arms as he began to speak.

"If you really wanted to be put out of the job and be placed in the joint, then you should have just asked," Looker glared at the villains and reached for a Pokeball.

"You're all wanted across Unova, but today, we'll make sure you never see the light of day," Burgh threatened angrily, hurt by the sight of people being mistreated, seeing bruises and cuts on some of the hostages.

"You have no right to be taking these people hostage," Professor Juniper spoke sternly and frowned at the criminals.

"Who do you think you are?" Bianca also gave them a dirty look and prepared to reach for a Pokeball.

"We're going to teach you a thing or two about what happens when you mess with us," Hilbert clenched his fist as he spoke.

"And you're going to regret everything you've done here," Hilda frowned intensely.

"That's right!" Iris shouted at them with anger.

"Justice will be served," Cilan pointed his finger at them.

"You guys have caused enough trouble already," May crossed her arms, speaking with a serious tone.

"This ends now," Ash made a fist and Pikachu emitted sparks from its cheeks.

Ghetsis gave them a devilish stare and turned to N, "You care to take the honors, boy?"

N turned to Ash and the others and gave them a weak smile, "I'm sorry to say this, but please don't intervene, this is a battle between Team Plasma and Team Neo Plasma."

"N, stop acting like you believe you can handle this on your own, you are not as bad as them," Ash frowned at N, taking note of the fact that N found himself in a dire situation.

"We may have only met once, but we know you're not as cold-hearted as the others," May added to what Ash said, the two surprising everyone regarding their opinions of N.

N gave them a baffled look and turned to Ghetsis and the others who were not impressed. N gave them an apologetic grin and spoke, "Sorry, but stay out of it," the leader said and Team Plasma Grunts protected the youthful leader.

Ash frowned and prepared to disobey, but Giovanni spoke, "Foolish child, you interrupt the battle and we make sure the citizens of Castelia City are left crippled."

"No…." May grinded her teeth in frustration when she heard Giovanni, the others also mimicked her actions and they glared at the Rocket leader.

"Just relax and watch the battle," Zinzolin chuckled after he spoke.

The heroes found no choice, but to do so and turned to N and Ghetsis. N was using a Pokémon shaped like a double cone ice cream, with icicles hanging from its sides; Ghetsis was using a large toad-like Pokémon, with a blue coloring.

"They're using a Vanilluxe and Seismitoad to battle," Cilan pointed out, seeing two fully evolved, powerful Pokémon preparing to confront each other.

"How did this happen though?" Iris wondered.

"King N is confronting Team Neo Plasma and Team Rocket and attempting to stop their evil plans, this is a battle between ideas, Giovanni is right by saying none of you should interfere," Rood, a sage of Team Plasma informed them as he came out of the crowd of hostages.

"Where are the blasted cops," Looker grinded his teeth.

"You didn't think we thought about that before attacking Castelia City, right now our allies must have the police on their knees," Pierce came out of the crowd of Team Rocket operatives.

They all grinded their teeth as Pierce smirked at them pleased the feeling of hopelessness he was giving off. "You have no chance of winning, fools, like N you just made a pathetic mistake, Team Plasma made the error of coming to Castelia City and interfere with our plan, now, even with hostages, in reality, Team Rocket and Team Neo Plasma have Team Plasma by the neck," Zinzolin approached them and stood next to Pierce. From a distance Colress, smirked and chuckled at the gang, interested by the expressions on their faces.

Ash and the others became forced to watch the confrontation between the villainous organizations, refusing to hear more blabbering from the high-ranking operatives of the criminal organizations.

"N, you are a child who understands little to nothing, you have made a grave mistake by coming here, Seismitoad, use Sludge Wave," Ghetsis held onto his cane while making the command.

"I'm here to stop you and make sure Team Plasma's goal is reached, once you're out of the way, the world of Pokémon will finally experience true harmony, Vanilluxe, use Frost Breath to stop Sludge Wave!" N extended his arm forward.

With its blue powdered breath, Vanilluxe froze the dark purple sludge launched its way, the icy sludge then dropped to the ground and cracked. Ghetsis chuckled and spoke, "Seismitoad, use Earthquake."

Seismitoad jumped on the ground and made it shake viciously, almost making Ash, May, and their friends lose balance. May could hear people sounding frightened as the ground shook violently. A few feet away from her, May saw a mother and daughter being held hostage, the brunette could hear the daughter weep and tell her mother, "Mommy, I'm scared."

May's heart almost shattered when she heard the fear in the little girl's tone as she squeezed her Cubchoo doll. The mother would try to smile and say, "It's going to be ok sweetie, just stay put." Then the mother got jabbed in the gut by Gurdurr, owned by a Team Rocket grunt.

The brunette, felt anger building up in her when the girl cried as he mom endured the pain inflicted on her, but she knew she might be risking their lives even more by trying to save them. Meanwhile, Ash glared at Ghetsis and N as they continued their violent battle. The rest of the group watched in horror as more people got beaten and captured by grunts, especially by Rocket and Neo Plasma grunts.

"Seismitoad, use Bubblebeam," Ghetsis smirked at N.

"Freeze with Frost Breath," N frowned at Ghetsis.

Vanilluxe easily froze Seismitoad's bubbles, but Ghetsis remained calm. "Smash through the ice balls and deliver the killing blow with Drain Punch," Ghetsis slammed his cane against the cement.

N gasped as Seismitoad charged at full speed, its fist glowing and punching through ice balls. The giant toad sent Vanilluxe flying against the hard floor while draining energy in the process. "Vanilluxe, use Flash Cannon on Seismitoad, quick!" N instructed with an anxious tone.

A large glowing ball of energy got shot out by Vanilluxe, but Ghetsis remained cool, "Seismitoad, counter with Sludge Wave." Seismitoad released a thicker and larger wave of sludge at Flash Cannon, but the surprising part was that it trapped Flash Cannon inside the sludge and continued charging at Vanilluxe.

When the wave of sludge hit Vanilluxe, an explosion occurred in front of the Ice-type and sent it flying back. It groaned as it struggled to get up while Seismitoad smirked and the crowds of Neo Plasma and Rocket grunts cheered while Plasma members groaned.

N glared at Ghetsis and spoke, "So is this what it has come to father, you've joined an organization of petty crooks and now do their bidding, you've abandoned your son just to reach your ambition, your evil ambition. What do you hope to gain from it all?"

Professor Juniper, Bianca, Trip, Hilbert, Hilda, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Ash, and May's eyes widened when they heard N call Ghetsis his father. "He's his…dad?" Ash raised an eyebrow, confused by the interaction.

"But how?" May was also in a state of shock.

Ghetsis turned to the gang and spoke, "That's right, N and I are father and son, that's why we worked together during the original formation of Team Plasma, but our thoughts differed and my child has chosen to become dependent," Ghetsis smirked and turned his gaze from the gang back to N.

"Pokémon are meant to be exploited, their talents have been given to us so that human civilization may progress, and they are the basis of everything in human history, from revolutions, depressions, civil wars, to world wars. Our goal is exploit Pokémon in order to prevent such human conflicts and still advance in every field known to mankind," Colress stepped up and explained his goal.

"Human civilization is crumbling; because of the partnership and blind optimism today's world has demonstrated. Pokémon are becoming as reckless as humanity, like Team Neo Plasma, Team Rocket intends to unite all people within our world and denounce the evils of truth and love, we've weakened as a planet and therefore, there is no one to save us, except through exploitation and drastic action," Giovanni placed his arms behind his back as he explained even further.

"So in the end, we may create a true harmony, one where everything is balanced, Pokémon serve humans, and humans use the services of the Pokémon in order to advance. All the while, organizations like Team Rocket and Neo Plasma keep things under check, so history does not repeat itself, but we cannot achieve it if fools keep intervening, people who prevent us from attaining the power necessary to produce the world we envision," Ghetsis looked at Ash and his friends, then at N in his last phrase.

Looker grinded his teeth and spoke, "Enough of this nonsense, the world is humble in its current state, none of the things you speak of have occurred in the last five decades."

Burgh stood next to Looker and spoke, "If you continue down this path though, there will certainly be a repeat in history, you'd be starting something you should have ended."

"Yet, organizations like Team Magma, Team Aqua, and Team Galatic spring up every day, trying to reach foolish ambitions, all the while, trying to destroy humanity, primitive actions indeed, creating worlds without emotion, increasing land mass or expanding the sea," Ghetsis chuckled as he mocked other criminal organizations.

Ash clenched his fist and began to speak, "That doesn't make you any better than them. You think by abusing innocent people and taking over an entire city, you're doing the right thing? You're wrong, Ghetsis, I don't know a lot about history, but I know that if you want to do something right, this is not how you do it, you don't go around hurting people and Pokémon, you befriend them and show care for them, that's what life is all about, showing care and love for each other, not aiming for world domination."

"That's right and we plan on stopping you here if we have to. No one gives you the right to hurt others, no matter who they are, if you want to fight for what is right and help the world, start by giving up your evil plans and do what everyone else does, show love and care. I've traveled long enough to know how much people suffer, how many people cry and die, and I blame it on people like you, greedy and ambitious, who if he doesn't get what he wants, has to use violence to obtain it, that's not the way this world works," May added on to what Ash said, the couple giving a powerful lecture to their enemies.

"Ash, May," N gave them a confused look, not sure how to explain what he was feeling after hearing them. Even their friends were amazed by the wisdom the pair had demonstrated while standing up to Ghetsis and their allies.

Unfortunately, they only received hysterical laughing from the two criminal organizations, infuriating Ash, May, and the others even more. N only gave Ghetsis a look of disgust as he smirked at Ash and May. "Ash and May, the couple who has participated in the largest tournaments around the world, foiled criminal organizations all over, has come here to Unova to do just that. Honestly, we were expecting you to come here, to this very spot, and all I want to say is, we will not stop until we have what we need, we'll crush anyone who stands in the way, whether it's a group of friends, pair of lovers, or my son," the green-haired man made his point clear.

"Then you're giving us no choice, but to stop you," Ash spoke in a tone rarely heard, a deep and serious one. The raven-haired teen reached for a Pokéball while Pikachu jumped to the floor. May, Hilda, Hilbert, Iris, Cilan, Burgh, Bianca and Looker all prepared to fight the criminals as well.

"Team Neo Plasma, Team Rocket, and Team Plasma, you are arrested for your crimes by the orders of the International Police Force," Looker took out a handcuff to show that he was serious.

"Your crimes in Unova and the world stop here," Burgh prepared to give Looker back up.

Looker pulled his arm back and prepared to throw his Pokéball until Colress sent out a Pokémon with swift movements. "Beeheeyem, use Psychic to take that Pokéball out of his hands," Colress pointed at Looker and the strange-looking Psychic-type quickly snatched the ball with its psychic powers, throwing it a few feet away from Looker, making the police officer glare at Colress, who gave him a diabolical grin.

When Burgh prepared to attack, a small dart shot at his hand and left a small slash cross his hand, making the gym leader drop his Pokéball, "Darn, where did that come from," Burgh endured the pain and looked at his red hand.

"That looks bad," Hilbert's eyes widened and grinded his teeth.

"Where did it come from?!," Bianca screamed with fear.

Hilda turned from them to the direction of the dart. Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Professor Juniper, and Trip, who was still being held captive, followed the direction as well; they looked up at a tall building and spotted 13 figures in black coats, their faces exposed to everyone. "You got to be kidding me," May frowned, knowing things just got worse.

"Who are they?" Hilda raised an eyebrow. Soon Hilbert, Looker, and Bianca also spotted the group, their eyes widening as well.

"They're called the Majestic 12, a criminal organization composed of really powerful trainers, we don't know much, but we've run into them enough times to know they're bad news," Ash informed Hilda as to who they were.

The citizens and criminals looked up and also saw the group in black, they all wondered who they were, were they friend or foe? Ghetsis looked up with Giovanni, Colress, Pierce, and Zinzolin, the group grinned cunningly at them and then back at the teens. N became confused by their arrival, but by the look on his father's face, he could tell that they were not on their side.

"I didn't expect the show to begin so soon, luckily we arrived just in time, the police proved to be a bigger thorn than we thought," Omega grinned evilly, focusing his gaze on Ash and May in particular. The other members also gave cunning smirks at the people below.

"You'd think they would just kneel at our presence, but we had to blow up some stuff, hack other stuff, and beat a few cops up, but the job is done," Archer got next to Omega, a sadistic grin across his face.

"Now we'll finish the business here," Genesis, the man who wore the red helmet said.

"It's those guys from Luxuria Town," Trip muttered, the only who get a sentence out of his mouth.

Omega dropped from the building and the others and landed in front of N, getting in position next to Ghetsis. When they dropped on the floor, they formed cracks on the cement, startling everyone, around them. They got up from their kneeling stances and smirked slyly. "How did they drop from so high and land so perfectly on the ground without getting hurt?" Bianca had a frightened look across her face.

"So the rumors are true, you do exist, and you're more superhuman than I thought," Looker began to speak.

Omega raised his silver eyebrow and then gave Looker a pleased look with his yellow eyes. "Impressive, not many have prior knowledge of us before actually having an encounter, but that's what I'd expect from an IPO, you exceed your reputation International Police Officer Looker."

Looker gave them a stern stare and Omega shifted his stare from Looker to Ash and May. He took note of Hilda, Hilbert, Iris, Cilan, and Bianca as well, "I see you've made a wide array of friends," Omega gave them a smirk.

"Did you happen to introduce us to them already?" Zero came out of the crowd and asked and then chuckled.

"We've run into you with most of your friends, except for the blond and brunette girls," Annie crossed her arms, smirking at them.

"Then let's make ourselves known to them once and for all," Phantom suggested, smiling sinisterly.

"I agree," Omega grinned slyly and began to levitate, startling the people around them even more. N and Team Plasma moved away from them and revealed the Majestic 12 to the hostages around them.

Omega looked at all the innocent people as he hovered above his underlings and spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you are already familiar with Team Plasma, Team Neo Plasma, and Team Rocket, but I don't believe you've heard about the Majestic 12. I'm Omega and the leader of the Majestic 12; we are a cult of powerful trainers who reside in the shadows, hidden from the public eye until now. Today Castelia City and Unova will know who we are, we're here to take over and liberate you from the plagues of society, anyone who stands in the way, will die." The silver-haired man motioned his arms around like if he were preaching and spoke with a very deep voice; the people around him could hear him and only showed more fear with every word he spoke.

N grinded his teeth and frowned at Ghetsis, "Father, who have you allied yourself with?" the green-haired teen questioned.

"Ambition can give you powerful friends N, even Aura users such as Omega," Ghetsis stated.

N displayed signs of shock and looked at the members of the Majestic 12. "The Majestic 12…they're Aura wielders?"

Omega dropped down to floor and looked at Colress and Giovanni, "Order your operatives to free the people. Let them spread the word of who is here."

"And what if they fight back?" Giovanni asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We kill them all," Omega stated, making his followers, except a few, grin cunningly. Omega then looked at Looker and the rest of the gang, "I'll be with you in a second, but if you try to escape or even approach those people, we will not hesitate to attack."

Omega's words made everyone's spines shiver and the bosses of the villainous teams accepted.

"Stand down," Giovanni and Colress spoke through their Xtransceivers and told their members to stop threatening the hostages.

Omega turned from the two leaders to the people, "You're a free to go."

With that one phrase, the people began to yell and run as quick as possible, not looking back at their kidnappers, threatening to leave the region or call the police. Ash and the others watched the people run and felt sorry for them.

When Trip was freed, he immediately got up and took his position next to Hilda. "Trip, aren't you going to try to escape?" the brunette asked him.

"No, I have a bone to pick with these guys," Trip frowned and joined the rest of the heroes.

Ash turned back to Omega and glared, "So you plan to let these people spread the fear?"

Omega smirked and nodded, "That's right, but there is one more thing needed to be done, Genesis, target the little girl with the Cubchoo doll and her mother as they run for their lives," his eyes focused on the pair May had been staring at earlier.

Genesis formed an Aura Sphere on the palm of his hand and prepared to release it, alerting Ash, May, N, and everyone else. "No!" the gang yelled together as Genesis released the attack while the villains watched with amusement.

The mother and daughter saw the impending attack and the mother wrapped herself around the daughter, knowing she could not escape, but just in the nick of time Ash intervened, "Pikachu, stop that with Electro Ball!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu unleashed Electro Ball as quickly as possible and stopped the attack just in time. An explosion was produced a few feet from the mother and daughter, but the pair took advantage of the time Ash had bought and escaped.

"Not bad," Charon stated with amusement and cackled.

"You guys have a funny sense of humor by hurting people," Ash glared sternly.

"What do you guys want, to see people cry, so they can get hurt, do you want to see people die?!" May yelled at all of them for their cruelty towards the people.

"They want the world and everyone's lives in the process of obtaining it," a voice called out, alarming everyone yet again.

They all looked around to see where it came from, but Omega chuckled and pointed behind Ash and May. Everyone turned around and on top of a building they saw four figures with black coats as well, 3 of them had their faces revealed while one hid their face under a black hood.

"That voice, isn't it-," Ash was about to say the name until May interrupted.

"Roxas!" May screamed at the figure that hid under the black hood.

_It's about time,_ Looker crossed his arms and smiled when he saw the group of 4. Omega and his comrades were the only ones unfazed by the arrival, but Team Neo Plasma and Team Rocket showed signs of concern. N and Team Plasma remained confused, not knowing who he was. On the other side though, Iris, Cilan, Ash, May, Hilbert, Hilda, Pikachu and Bianca raised their eyebrows when they saw the people standing next to Roxas. They were all teenagers, but there was something familiar about them, there were two boys and a girl. The girl was a brunette with blue eyes, her hair formed two honey buns, one on each side of her head, from there, two ponytails flowed down from each honey bun and her hair covered a bit of her forehead as well. Like Roxas and Omega, she wore the regular black coat get up, except for black heels instead of black boots. The gang realized something odd about her though, for some reason she bore a resemblance to Hilda.

The boy standing next to her also bore some resemblance to one of their friends, who had something similar to Hilbert. His hair was brown and shaggy, but still pretty long since it reached almost his neck. His eyes were brown and he even had some resemblance to the girl standing next to him.

The third and final boy was different from the other two; he had dark blue hair and brown eyes. His hair wasn't shaggy, but it was sharp and went in an upward direction. He had no resemblance to the other two teens or to anyone from the gang, but there was still something familiar about him as well. The stern gaze on his face was a large hint for Ash.

May, Ash, Iris, Cilan, and Pikachu smiled at Roxas, who still hid his face, wondering what he looked like since he still hadn't revealed himself, but just then the silent guardian pulled his hood down. Making of all their eyes widen, especially Ash and May's. He had raven black hair and sapphire eyes; he looked only slightly older than Ash and May, around Cilan's age. The stern gaze he had on also bore a large likeness to Ash's. Iris took a close look at the teenager and then at Ash and May, she gasped when she saw the resemblance and raised an eyebrow, _why do those three look so similar? _Iris wondered, but shook off the idea, knowing now wasn't the time.

Pikachu, N, Professor Juniper, Hilda, Hilbert, Trip, and Bianca became surprised by what they saw as well, wondering why this newcomer bore such a heavy resemblance to the girl from Hoenn and the boy from Kanto.

"Ash…" May spoke to the raven-haired teen, still just as shocked as everyone else.

"Yeah?" Ash asked.

"Roxas looks like you…" May stated, still staring at Roxas.

"And you too," Ash acknowledged what she said.

"More you than me," May answered him.

The couple remained silent as Roxas dropped to the ground like Omega and the three other teenagers followed close behind him. _I wonda who else iz comin ta show up fur da party, Bigfoot? I'm gettin a little nwervus wit all dis random people, _Meowth thought to himself as he hid among the group of Team Rocket operatives with Jessie and James.

Roxas walked through the group of heroes with a serious look in his eyes. "Roxas," May barely managed to say his name as he walked past them.

"It's really you," Ash stated, he was just as surprised as May, still trying to get a grip of the situation. Pikachu also mimicked Ash, the mouse gazed at Roxas as he passed by and tried to get a grip of the situation as well.

The raven-haired boy with sapphire eyes gave Ash and May a small smile as he walked by them, then just took a glimpse of the other faces he saw. Roxas continued to walk and ignored the others. The three teenagers behind him also ignored them, including Ash and May, however, when the two brunette teens in black coats looked at Hilbert and Hilda, they flashed quick smiles.

"Looker, do you know who these kids are?" Professor Juniper whispered to the police officer.

"Not very much, but I know that they will get things under control," Looker grinned confidently and pressed a red button on his Xtransceiver. _Backup should be here in a second; this is the opportunity I was waiting for, _Looker thought in his mind.

Roxas and his followers stood in front of the teens and Team Plasma. They gave the villains a stern frown. "Well, if it isn't the obnoxious freedom fighters," Brodie chuckled as he looked at Roxas and the other 3.

Omega raised his arms and smirked, "Good tidings friends and foes, today we gather here to witness a momentous day, the beginning of invasion of Unova," the leader put his arms down and glared at Roxas.

"You guys talk big for people who had their last two major operations ruined by a single person," the teen with blue hair next to Roxas spoke and crossed his arms.

"That changes today, from here, Team Neo Plasma will take over Unova with its new allies," Ghetsis hit the floor with his cane.

"And not a single child will intervene with our plans," Giovanni made a fist and spoke with an intimidating voice.

"I don't know who you are, or what your intentions are, but they're right, they have more power than you can imagine," N got next to Roxas and spoke to him.

Roxas looked at N and replied, "Believe me; I know more than you can understand right now. Just let us handle this."

"Explain to us Roxas, how you were able to arrive just before we initiated our attack, you and your friends arrived at such precise timing, but not only here, what about the incident at the Nacrene Museum, the assault on Juniper's Lab, and the battle in Pallet Town? What's your secret?" Omega grinned deviously as his underlings laughed.

The brown-haired girl standing next to the blue-haired teen grinded her teeth and spoke, "Omega, you and your friends should leave Castelia now before things get serious."

"We're not going to allow you to wreck anymore havoc here," the brown-haired boy got next to the girl who resembled him and made a fist.

"We won't hesitate to blow you into oblivion," the blue-haired teen gave a deadly stare.

"Auro, Nate, Rosa, you three take after your parents as well, it's a shame your talents have to go down with Roxas and those other KIA operatives," Genesis got beside Omega and taunted the other three teens, revealing their names to the gang in the process.

May raised an eyebrow, "So those guys' names are Auro, Nate, and Rosa. I wonder who Auro is and who Nate is." The brunette murmured to herself.

"Hey Hilbert, one of those two guys shares your middle name," Hilda pointed out to him.

Hilbert smiled, "That's because Nate is a pretty cool name."

"Hey you guys don't forget, that we're here to help too. Roxas, you and your friends seem like good people, we want to help you," Ash appeared out of nowhere and got between N and Roxas. He then looked up at the slightly taller male, who raised his eyebrow at Ash.

Roxas gave him a crooked smile and turned back to Omega. "Omega, enough chit chat, hand over the Sword of Victory."

"Is that what you want?" N raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Roxas.

"Yes, I came here to you retrieve it, you were probably going to put it into use as well if they hadn't reached it first, weren't you, N?" Roxas gazed at the male who was his height.

N frowned and spoke, "Yes, but not for evil practices like my father and his partners."

"I have no intention to use it, I'm merely here to get it back and return it to its rightful place," Roxas told the green-haired leader of Team Plasma.

Those words rang through N's head and surprised the leader, Roxas's attitude was similar to someone else he had just recently met, N turned his eyes to Ash and looked at him momentarily and then at Roxas.

"If this is the Sword of Victory you speak of, then I'm afraid we cannot do that," Ghetsis revealed the sword, which he had been hiding in his coat. Its blade was red and the handle was yellow. There were three gems on the blade, a red one, a blue one, and green one. There were also purple swirls carved onto the ends of the handle of the sword.

"With this sword, we will be able to obtain Victini and achieve victory in our quest for power," Giovanni chuckled ambitiously.

Giovanni's Team Rocket operatives were fascinated by their boss's words and dreamed of ruling over the planet with the sword in their hands. Colress then stepped up and confronted Roxas, "If you and N hadn't arrived and just let us take our boat to Liberty Island, we would have already had Unova on its knees."

"What's Victini?" Ash mumbled as he looked at the sword Ghetsis was holding.

"And what does that sword have to do with anything?" May had a baffled expression on her face as she stood a few feet behind Ash.

Hilbert, Hilda, Trip, Iris, Cilan, Bianca, and Trip were also confused by what had just been revealed to them.

"Victini is the Legendary Victory Pokémon that resides in Liberty Island, which is just 5 miles south from Castelia City. It is said Victini can guarantee you victory in anything you've ever wanted, whether if it's becoming a winner of a Pokémon competition or seeking to take over the world. As for the sword, I never thought it existed, but it is said that it was crafted by a swordsmith who lived in the Kingdom of the Vale and had a strong connection with Victini. Victini's power was transferred into the sword and legend says, if you place the sword on a stone made by Victini in the lighthouse on Liberty Island, it will appear before you and serve you," Professor Juniper explained the story of Victini and the Sword of Victory.

"That means, if we let them leave with the sword, they'll capture Victini!" Iris exclaimed, shouting the conclusion.

"No way, that's not going to happen. None of us will let you!" Ash took few steps past Roxas and glared at Omega, Colress, Ghetsis, and Giovanni.

Omega looked down at the child and chuckled, "You know, your father gave me that same look the day I met him."

Ash was taken back by the comment, as everyone else, including Roxas raised an eyebrow. "My father, how did you know my father?" The raven-haired teen froze and began to picture the face of his father instead of Omega's and wondered what the leader of the Majestic 12 meant.

Roxas grinded his teeth and reached for a Pokéball, "Lucario, come out!" Lucario appeared in front Roxas in a flash; the jackal-like Pokémon was in a fighting stance and frowned at Omega.

"Hand over the sword right now!" Roxas yelled. The young man was clearly becoming aggravated.

_The sword belongs to no one, _Lucario spoke to them telepathically, surprising some, while others were not amused, including Ghetsis and Giovanni.

Auro, Nate, and Rosa also reached for their Pokéballs. Team Plasma, Team Rocket, and Team Neo Plasma Grunts also reached their Pokéballs and prepared to battle. Trip, Bianca, Iris, Cilan, Hilda, Hilbert, Burgh, and Looker also followed their motions and prepared to battle too.

"I'm afraid, you're going to have to try and take it from us," Omega gave Roxas a blank look and said one final thing while snapping his fingers, "Let the games begin." All of a sudden, a powerful screech from the sky was heard and the shadow of a flying creature could be seen among the clouds. Everyone looked up and saw the shadow release a meteor-size Shadow Ball at the tallest building in town, which was still under construction.

The impact caused a powerful explosion and fire could be seen emerging from the blast. People all over the city began to scream in fire as the building began to collapse from the powerful attack and firefighters quickly and ambulances quickly began to mobilize.

Ash and his friends all watched in fear as the damaged tower emitted pitch black smoke into the sky. N and Team Plasma were also horrified by the destruction they were witnessing in front of them.

"What madness is this?" N clenched his fists.

"Those people," Ash clenched his fist enough to hurt himself.

"This isn't right," May grabbed one of Ash's hands and squeezed it with fear as she placed her hand over her heart.

Even the followers of the villainous leaders became frightened by what they saw, with exclusion of Pierce, and the followers of Omega. "Jess, has the boss lost his mind by getting himself tied with such insane people?" James mumbled to her.

"I don't know James," Jessie didn't look at him as she watched with sadness as the tower began to show further signs of collapsing.

"Who aw 'we' gettin ouwaselves tied up wit?" Meowth murmured to himself as he referred "we" to him, Jessie, and James.

"Damn it!" Roxas grinded his teeth and his eyes widened with horror, _it's happening…_He threw a Master Ball violently into the air, alerting everyone as to what he was going to do and a large, intimidating, and powerful creature revealed itself to all of them.

It was a sauropod-like Pokémon. It had various light blue stripes with a fin-like structure on its back and a crest on its head, resembling a dinosaur. It also had two horns on top of its head, two fang-like horns around its mouth, and three spines on the back of its neck, long claws, and a short tail. It was mainly dark blue with some gray metallic portions, including its chest plate, which had a diamond in the center. It roared angrily and shot out a blue energy ball at the sky from its jaw.

"It's Dialga!" Ash and the entire gang screamed simultaneously.

"Incredible!" N was left awestruck.

Ghetsis, Giovanni, Colress, and their followers were also left in shock while the Majestic 12 remained calm. When Dialga finally settled and glared at the Majestic 12, Omega spoke, "I was wondering when you would call out your ultimate weapon."

Roxas and Lucario jumped onto the back of the dragon. "You've left me with no choice," Roxas frowned at Omega and spoke again, "Auro, Nate, Rosa, begin our backup initiative, Operation Time Saver, I'm going to stop that tower from falling on thousands of people, commence now!"

"Right!" the trio nodded.

Without even saying anything to Ash or May, Roxas flew off with Lucario on Dialga and charged for the tower. "Well you heard Roxas, let's get started," Auro, the blue-haired teen said and they summoned their Pokémon.

"Arcanine, let's battle!" Nate called out his Pokémon and threw his black coat away, revealing a ninja-like suit.

"Feraligatr, help us retrieve the Sword of Victory!" Rosa summoned her Water-type Pokémon and she also took off her coat, revealing a ninja-like suit.

"Electivire, standby for battle," Auro released his partner calmly and did the same as Nate and Rosa when he took off his black coat, revealing a ninja-like suit as well.

The three fully-evolved, powerful Pokémon emitted energy and frowned at their opponents. They were just as determined to get the mission done as them.

"Those Pokémon may look powerful, but they need our help too!" Ash reached for a Pokéball, but Looker grabbed his hand and nodded sideways, confusing the auburn-eyed teen.

"Not yet," Looker smiled and Ash returned the gesture.

"Time to split up," Ghetsis commanded and slammed his cane against the cement.

"Indeed," Giovanni nodded.

"Let's begin," Colress chuckled.

Omega closed his eyes and took a black gas enveloped him, he lifted up into the air and dashed among the buildings, the action resembled a ghostly form of Aqua Jet.

"He escaped!" Cilan gasped when he saw what Omega did.

"How did he do that?!" Trip yelled with astonishment.

"Archer, Kodai, Brodie, take care of Auro, Nate, and Rosa," Genesis instructed.

"With pleasure," Archer smirked at the three teens with Kodai and Brodie.

"You're in for a world of pain," Kodai grinned slyly at Nate, Rosa, and Auro.

"Let's take this somewhere else," Nate spoke and he, Rosa, and Auro became enveloped by blue energy along with their Pokémon and shot into the sky like Aqua Jet. Kodai, Brodie, and Archer followed closely behind as they shot off in the same way as Omega.

Genesis and the remaining members also took a ghostly form and jetted off their separate ways. "We can't let the Majestic 12 get away!" Hilda yelled.

"We'll worry about them later," Burgh told the brunette.

"Let's focus on Ghetsis, he's the one with the sword," Professor Juniper frowned.

"Jessie, James, Meowth, Pierce, to the JE Building now," Giovanni ordered and they nodded as a car pulled up in front of the Team Rocket leader, which had driven at an incredible speed into the square.

"Colress, Zinzolin, to the sewers," Ghetsis instructed and they nodded. The trio of Team Neo Plasma quickly jumped into an open manhole to escape the heroes.

"You punks are outnumbered, time to finish the job," a Team Neo Plasma Grunt prepared to battle, but Burgh quickly took action by summoning one of his own Pokémon.

"Leavanny, tie that crook with String Shot," the gym leader commanded and his most powerful Pokémon did just that, preventing the grunt from attacking.

Nonetheless, more began to attack and summon their Pokémon. "How are we going to stop all of them, there must be at least a hundred here," Hilbert grinded his teeth in frustration.

"Team Plasma, stop Team Neo Plasma and Team Rocket!" N commanded and his underlings quickly took charge. They summoned their Pokémon and began attacking each other. N's actions surprised the teens and the trio of adults.

N smiled at them and spoke, "My group won't hold them off for long, you better escape."

Team Plasma was clearly outnumbered, but they were holding their own against their rivals. Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball, Slash after Slash, and Hyper Beam after Hyper Beam, Liepard, Stoutland, Throh, Sawk, Sandile, Cofagrigus, and other Pokémon fought brutally against each other.

However, suddenly, about a dozen police cars and six armored trucks arrived with international police badges on the shoulder pad of their uniforms. The uniforms they wore were similar to a SWAT member, except they were silver.

"Perfect, right on time," Looker turned to his operatives.

"Looker, the city is under attack. We spotted a boy and a Dialga trying to settle the destruction taking place by the Liberty Tower a few blocks from here," the operative stated.

"Colonel, the situation is worse than I expected. Where are the rest of your numbers?" Looker questioned the man.

"They're evacuating the city right now sir, I brought reinforcements to take care of the Plasma and Rocket Grunts here," the operative spoke.

"Excellent, then you and your men arrest all the grunts you can," Looker commanded and the Sergeant nodded. He quickly ordered his men to take down the criminals and they got involved in the battle between the villainous teams, they also used more hound-like Pokémon like Houndoom, Stoutland, and Growlithe.

May grabbed Ash's arm and spoke, "Ash, I'm scared of what's going to happen now."

Ash was also very frightened, what he was seeing wasn't a battle, it was actual fighting. The trainers weren't attacking their Pokémon, they were attacking the other trainer, but the trainer's Pokémon would protect its master from the attack with a counter, it was like a survival battle.

The auburn-eyed teen placed his hand on May's shoulder and spoke, "Don't worry May, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

"Iris, Cilan, Trip, I need you to help the police here. Defeat as many grunts as you can until there are none left!" Looker ordered the three teens.

Iris, Cilan, and Trip nodded sternly, the three were eager to give the criminals a taste of their own medicine after what they did to the hostages. Iris used Axew, Cilan used Pansage, and Trip used Servine.

"Hilbert, Hilda, you go after Ghetsis, Colress, and Zinzolin," Looker informed them.

"Yes sir!" the two nodded and ran off to the manhole, but before they jumped in N called out to them.

"Wait, I'm going with you, there's a score I need to settle with my father," N told with a serious tone and jumped into the manhole. Hilda and Hilbert weren't sure what to expect, but they follow close behind.

"Ash, May, Pikachu, you three will go after Giovanni, he must already be at the JE Building," Looker told them.

"Right!" Ash and May nodded with stern gazes.

Professor Juniper then approached Ash and handed him a Pokéball, "Ash, I brought Tranquil with me in case you needed her, would you like to give me one of your other Pokémon in exchange for it?"

Ash shook his head, "Sure, I haven't used Tranquil in sometime." He then took out a Pokéball and handed it her while Juniper gave him Tranquil, "That's Swadloon, please take care of it professor." Professor Juniper smiled and nodded.

"Pika!" Pikachu told Ash.

"Pikachu is right, we should get going," May told Ash and they agreed. The trio then dashed off to the JE Building.

"Bianca, you will help Burgh, Professor Juniper, and I evacuate the city, free any other hostages and defeat any remaining grunts lurking in the city," Looker stated.

"Yes, Looker!" Bianca responded with a stern voice, understanding the crisis of the situation.

* * *

**Minutes** later...

And with that, the entire gang dispersed around the entire city with a different objective and with a target to find. After defeating several grunts, Iris, Cilan, and Trip pitted themselves against a Neo Plasma Grunt, Rocket Grunt, and Plasma Grunt. "I assume after we beat these three, they will no longer need us, the number of grunts is depleting swiftly," Trip analyzed the situation.

"It'd be best if we go look for Looker after this then," Cilan stated and Trip nodded in agreement.

"He might want us to do something else," Iris pointed out and the boys agreed.

The Rocket Grunt who stood beside the Plasma and Neo Plasma Grunt, chuckled, "If you want to get this over with, you're going to have to defeat me."

"That also includes me, you can battle me, but you won't win," the Neo Plasma Grunt spoke arrogantly about himself.

"After you're finished with, I shall take your Pokémon and give them to Lord N, so ready you're not here I come!" the Plasma Grunt yelled and the three criminals released their Pokémon.

The Rocket Grunt had a Golbat, the Neo Plasma Grunt was using an Amoonguss, and the Plasma Grunt used a Watchog. The 3 Pokémon glared fiercely at Iris, Cilan, and Trip. Iris looked at Axew, who jumped out of her hair for another battle, "Ready Axew?"

"Ax axew," Axew made a fist and grinned confidently.

"Let's get started," Trip declared as he summoned Servine and Cilan brought out Pansage.

"Amoonguss, use Clear Smog on Servine!" the Neo Plasma Grunt commanded and his Pokémon unleashed a clear gas at Trip's Pokémon.

"Servine, dodge and then use Cut on Golbat!" Trip extended his right arm forward. Servine easily dodged Clear Smog and jumped into the air to slice Golbat.

"Golbat, counter Cut with Steel Wing!" the Rocket Grunt instructed with a husky voice.

"Axew, get in there and stop Golbat from countering with Scratch!" Iris made a fist.

"Watchog, use Hyper Fang to stop Axew!" the Plasma Grunt commanded.

"And Pansage, intervene and use Bite to stop Watchog!" Cilan instructed.

Pansage managed to stop Watchog by biting it and then sent the Lookout Pokémon flying against the ground by flinging it with its jaws. Axew then successfully stopped Golbat and Scratch and Cut dealt double damage to the bat-like Pokémon, but then the Neo Plasma Grunt made a command.

"Amoonguss, use Clear Smog on Axew's trainer!" the Neo Plasma Grunt exclaimed, surprising Trip, Iris, and Cilan. It was the first time any of them had actually been targeted and they believed the only reason the grunts attacked the police was to escape, but this grunt proved to be merciless.

Amoonguss released the attack, but Cilan quickly acted, "Pansage, get between Iris and the attack!"

Iris raised her eyebrows when she heard Cilan and the next thing she saw was Pansage getting blasted into the dirt by the attack. The monkey was hit head on and the Poison-type attack knocked it out.

"Cilan…" Iris spoke as she looked at him.

"You can thank me later, right now we have a city to save, Dwebble, go!" Cilan stated and summoned his next Pokémon after returning Pansage.

Trip grinded his teeth and spoke, "That's the last time we ever give you a chance to target us, now things are serious. Servine, use Cut on Amoonguss!"

"Counter with Faint Attack," the Neo Plasma Grunt ignored Trip and countered. Amoonguss disappeared from Servine's sight for a moment, but then reappeared, but before it could strike Axew came from nowhere and scratched the Poison-type.

"Dwebble, finish Amoonguss with X-Scissor," Cilan extended his left arm forward.

"Golbat, stop Dwebble with Wing Attack," the Rocket Grunt intervened.

"Servine, get between Dwebble and Golbat and counter Wing Attack with Cut!" Trip made a fist.

Servine successfully stopped Golbat and sent the Flying-type back thanks to its superior power. Dwebble also overpowered Amoonguss and sent it flying against a building with its X-shaped energy attack. Amoonguss cracked the glass of the building and was left knocked out.

The Neo Plasma Grunt groaned, but before he could retaliate an IPO knocked him down, realizing he had been defeated. "Officer, get ready to arrest these 2 because they're almost done as well, Axew, use Scratch on Watchog!" Iris mentioned and pointed at Watchog when she made her command.

"Servine, use Tackle on Golbat!" Trip ordered and Servine charged at Golbat with quick speed.

"Golbat, use Swift!" the Rocket Grunt commanded, but Servine easily dodged and sent Golbat crashing against the ground, knocking it out.

Meanwhile, Axew also charged at Watchog and the Dragon-type cried fiercely as it ran, "Ax axew ax axew axew!"

Unfortunately, the Plasma Grunt prepared to counter with a much stronger attack, "Watchog, stop Axew with Slam!"

"Dwebble, get in there and stop Watchog with another X-Scissor!" Cilan instructed. Dwebble unleashed the attack as Watchog prepared to slam Axew, but X-Scissor sent it flying back and before it could get up, Axew slashed it down into the dirt, defeating the Normal-type.

IPOs quickly arrested Iris and Cilan's opponents as Iris and Cilan smiled at each other for their teamwork, while Trip thanked Servine for its performance. They returned their Pokémon and Cilan spoke, "Let's return to Looker, IPOs are beginning to leave with all the grunts, the others might be done with whatever Looker tasked them with."

"Right," Trip and Iris shook their heads.

* * *

"It wasn't very smart of you children to come here, if you failed once in the past, what makes you think you can succeed here?" Archer questioned as he, his comrades, and their opponents stood on the rooftop of a tall building.

Auro frowned and responded, "We can change things here, it's not too late, and you haven't even won yet."

"That may be true, but who says we won't?" Brodie chuckled and smirked.

"After we eradicate you pesky idealists, we'll exterminate the opposition," Kodai had his arms behind his back and laughed at the teens.

"You guys are really starting to bug me," Nate grinded his teeth and made a fist.

Rosa crossed her arms and frowned, "Let's settle this here and now."

"Gladly," Archer gave her a sly grin. He reached for a Pokéball and called out, "Time to battle, Rampardos!"

"Mismagius, come out!" Kodai summoned his Pokémon.

"Ditto, playtime!" Brodie released his signature Pokémon.

Archer's fearsome Pokémon stomped on the roof when it appeared and Mismagius gave off a scary vibe in the environment while Ditto smiled sneakily.

The teens looked at their Pokémon, who nodded to show that they were ready to battle. "Alright Arcanine, use ExtremeSpeed on Rampardos!" Nate instructed.

Arcanine dashed at Rampardos with incredible speed, but before the canine could land its hit, Kodai intervened, "Mismagius, protect Rampardos from ExtremeSpeed." Mismagius appeared in front Arcanine and stopped the canine before it could attack with Protect.

Arcanine flipped back and growled. Auro frowned and made his command, "Electivire, use Thunderbolt on Ditto!"

"Electivire!" the Pokémon cried out and unleashed the Thunderbolt, but Brodie remained cool.

Ditto then suddenly transformed into Electivire and absorbed the Thunderbolt. Auro grinded his teeth when he saw Ditto transform while Brodie's eyes widened in delight, "Thank you Auro, now watch this trick. Ditto, use ThunderPunch on Feraligatr!"

"Feraligatr, dodge ThunderPunch!" Rosa commanded, but Ditto was too quick and made Feraligatr cry out in pain on contact.

Brodie motioned his index finger left to right and spoke, "Silly girl, you can't outmaneuver an Electivire when it is hit by an Electric-type attack, its ability, Motor Drive is activated and it becomes much faster."

"Very good Brodie, now it's my turn, Rampardos, use AncientPower on Arcanine," Archer crossed his arms as Rampardos unleashed a silver energy ball and launched it at Arcanine.

"Arcanine, dodge with ExtremeSpeed and then surround those 3 Pokémon with Flame Twister," Nate commanded.

"Nate, do you really want to use that move so early?" Rosa asked him.

"Sis, the situation is as dire as ever, I have no choice," Nate told her and she nodded.

"Let them have it Nate," Auro smiled confidently as Arcanine easily dodged Ancient Power and moved at such incredible speeds while using Flamethrower that it created a twister that enveloped the Majestic 12's Pokémon.

Kodai raised an eyebrow as the twister of fire thickened and their Pokémon were lost from view, "What is this combination supposed to do?"

"Does it really matter, this is child's play," Brodie laughed.

"Do your magic, Kodai," Archer ordered.

Kodai nodded and grinned deviously. Nate glared at the smiling Kodai and spoke, "Arcanine, sense Mismagius and use Odor Sleuth."

"Mismagius, prepare to use Protect when that attack closes in," Kodai instructed.

"Shouldn't we help him out Auro?" Rosa turned to the blue-haired teen.

"In a second, Nate is about to show how powerful and skillful he really is," Auro crossed his arms in amusement as their Pokémon watched.

Arcanine continued to run in circles and then unleashed a white sphere of energy into the twister of fire. The Legendary Pokémon then spotted Mismagius's silhouette in the fire and the canine realized the twister would close in on the Pokémon soon. Arcanine then leaped into the fire as the twister began to close itself.

"Now!" Kodai instructed, however, much to his surprise, Mismagius shot out of the fire like a rag and a large explosion of fire took place in front of them.

Archer, Brodie, and Kodai's eyes widened with shock when they saw the fiery explosion, which could be seen from the street. When it finally faded, Arcanine revealed itself with some embers on its fur, but the canine was still in one piece. Rampardos and Ditto were panting and were scorched as they got up.

"Impossible, how did you?" Archer was in disbelief.

"It's a tactic I was taught by my father and his friend, now…" Nate grinned confidently and talked in a very cocky tone.

"The real battle begins," Auro finished Nate's phrase and the Majestic 12 members became alert.

"Feraligatr, use Hydro Pump on Rampardos!" Rosa commanded with force.

"Ditto, transform into Electivire and protect Rampardos," Brodie retaliated with frustration.

"Electivire, intervene," Auro instructed.

"Mismagius, get up and use Shadow Ball on Electivire!" Kodai exclaimed to its Ghost-type Pokémon, who was still recovering.

Feraligatr unleashed Hydro Pump at Rampardos, who was still in pain and couldn't react, but Ditto transformed into Electivire and used Thunder to counter, however, Electivire absorbed the Thunder and became much faster. Archer groaned and spoke, "Rampardos, counter Hydro Pump with Zen Headbutt!"

Rampardos charged as its head glowed blue and it entered a standstill with Hydro Pump, the formerly extinct Pokémon was not willing to give up to Feraligatr so easily. Meanwhile, Auro made his demand, "Electivire, use Thunderbolt on Mismagius while it's recovering!"

"Shadow Ball fast," Kodai grinded his teeth and demanded again since Mismagius had still not fully recovered to attack yet and unfortunately, Thunderbolt shot out much faster than Mismagius could charge up a Shadow Ball.

The Ghost-type crashed against the ground once again and struggled to get up. Feraligatr also overpowered Rampardos and sent the dinosaur flying back as well. The Majestic 12's Pokémon were greatly weakened, but they weren't done with yet.

"How's this happening, we haven't even left much of a hit on them," Archer crossed his arms in frustration.

"I wonder what training they receive," Brodie raised an eyebrow, not believing how easily they were getting pummeled.

"They inherited the talents of their parents and mentors, it's no surprise in the end that they are almost as skilled as Roxas," Kodai sighed and then frowned as their Pokémon recovered while Auro, Rosa, and Nate grinned arrogantly at them.

"They're getting killed out there, if it was me, they would've already been finished." Silver watched the battle between the Majestic 12 and the teens from afar, on another rooftop.

Hunter J approached him as they stood on the roof with the rest of the organization, "Nonsense Silver, after Omega, Genesis, Zero, and I, those 3 are a major powerhouse to the organization, but the power Roxas's friends are showing is frighteningly phenomenal, they're almost as powerful as he is."

"Why do I always get stuck with the boring jobs? Last time I battled Ash and left him in the dust," Silver sighed and looked at his Pokéball.

Hunter J raised an eyebrow and spoke, "That doesn't count, it's not like if Ash were much of a challenge anyway, well right now, and the description of how strong he will be even scares me if we don't kill him before that day comes. Besides, Omega ordered us not to interfere if we don't have a role in the plan, you'll have your turn, lighten up kid."

She then walked away while Silver sighed and spoke with an obnoxious tone to her, "I'm not exactly a kid. I'm 18, have it memorized?" The red-haired member knew she didn't listen to him and he just returned to watching the battle.

Hunter J then approached Vicious and Annie, she took a look at the disaster taking place a distance away from here, but still clearly visible. She could see his Dialga trying to stop the destruction taking place in the area as the tower slowly collapsed, _futile attempts,_ the woman thought. She then turned to the pair she was near and spoke, "Annie, Vicious, Roxas seems occupied with the Liberty Tower, why don't you go help him?" the woman joked and chuckled.

"Why didn't you say so," Annie smiled with delight.

"May be then I can help him get into a hospital later," Vicious laughed and took in pleasure in the thought of harming Roxas.

"Why don't I join ya," Phantom walked over to them.

J turned to the middle-aged man and spoke, "No Phantom, remember the task Omega assigned you with. We are going to need you very soon."

Phantom frowned and then nodded, "That's right, this will be thrilling," the man laughed and looked over past the harbor of Castelia City.

"Hey Cloud aren't you bored of just staring at the smoky sky and listening to the sounds of millions peeing themselves?" Silver sat down next to Cloud.

"The battles are pretty entertaining," Cloud looked over to the battle between his comrades and the enemy,

Silver rolled his eyes and spoke sarcastically, "Right."

"If we do succeed our mission of taking over the world and getting rid of our enemies, what will we do then Silver?" Cloud asked his older comrade.

"Cloud, I don't even know what I'm going to have for dinner later, I don't really know," Silver joked with the younger member.

Cloud chuckled and smiled, "Then what's on your mind lately?"

"Lately, I've just been thinking how I'd like to have a good battle with a good opponent. I expected Ash to put up in a better fight when I challenged him in Luxuria Town, but I'd also like to really battle his girlfriend, Roxas, Nate, Rosa, or Auro, they seem to be the only people whose skills call my attention. Hey, you battled Ash and May right, what was that like, was it as dull as my battle with him?" Silver began a conversation regarding battles with the strongest trainers he knew of and asked Cloud about his battle with the couple.

"You wouldn't have been disappointed if it were you who had battled them. They really were something else, at first I didn't think much of them, but when I made the situation critical, they pulled it together and showed a large amount of skill, I still get chills when I think of the combinations they did. They even managed to take down Latias," Cloud recalled the battle in his mind, he pictured May and Ash calling out attacks and combinations while he admired their sheer skill and power.

"Man, I wish I could have been there, I could have double battled with you. Why didn't you tell me about it that day anyway?" Silver sounded disappointed and inquired Cloud once again.

"I guess, I just really wanted to see how I would I fair against them on my own. The organization talks about them like if they were a nuclear threat," Cloud teased and laughed.

"Hey, I never imagined you to make a joke, but yeah, that's true," Silver laughed.

"Thanks to that day though, I understand why the Majestic 12, Ghetsis, and Giovanni are afraid of them, because they friends all over helping them out on whatever they come across. Some of those friends are even out battling with them, but I guess what really makes them so special is, they have hearts," Cloud stood up and thought about the couple and a third figure, the blond-haired teen smiled while Silver looked at him with a confused look.

* * *

"Thank you for accompanying me," N ran with Hilda and Hilbert through the sewers.

"Well we know you're wanted everywhere, but the situation is favoring someone much worse right now," Hilbert stated as he ran.

"And you don't seem all that bad of a guy, N," Hilda smiled at him as they ran, making Hilbert slightly jealous while N just grinned and kept running.

"Fair enough," N chuckled as they ran. The leader of Team Plasma then thought about how Ash and May also probably had the same opinion, he wondered where the couple was right now and worried for their safety, after the whole exchange of words at the square, N began to wonder if there was more to his father's operation then just taking over Unova and he believed Ash and May played a critical role in it.

N then suddenly stopped in front of a wall and looked at it, "This is it, my father and Colress must be inside here."

"But it's just a wall, N," Hilda pointed out.

"Is it like a secret entrance or something?" Hilbert questioned the older boy.

N nodded and tapped it three times, then all of a sudden; it began to slide open, revealing a room filled with computers and machinery. "This Team Neo Plasma's secret base in Castelia City, this is how they planned out today's attack."

"Wow," Hilbert and Hilda said at the same time as they looked around.

"Very good N, you're not as naïve or stupid as your father gives you credit for," Colress emerged from a dark corner of the room.

"If you could see the greatness Team Neo Plasma is doing by joining us," Zinzolin emerged from the other dark corner of the room.

"Colress, Zinzolin, don't you see that you are just puppets for a much more selfish achievement?" N frowned at them.

"Nonsense, domination is merely in the nature of every human, except, only a few have the capability of accomplishing it," Colress chuckled.

Zinzolin then tapped a button on the wall and a door revealed itself in front of N, "Your father is in the next room waiting for you, why don't you go and try to dominate his mind with your beliefs, we'll take care of your friends."

N grinded his teeth and looked back at Hilda and Hilbert. "Don't worry about us N, you need to go stop your father," Hilda assured the older male to go.

"Yeah, we can take care of these fools," Hilbert reached for a Pokéball and grinned arrogantly.

N smiled at them and spoke softly, "Thank you." The leader of Team Plasma then walked toward the mechanical door, which slid open and allowed N to pass to the next room.

"Now, time to see where this goes," Colress smirked and reached for a Pokéball, with Zinzolin following his lead.

"Go Beheeyem," Colress summoned his Pokémon.

"Go Cryogonal," Zinzolin threw his Pokéball.

The Ice-type and Psychic-type appeared in front of the two friends, but they didn't seem to be frightened at all. "Servine, let's battle!" Hilda threw her Pokéball like a baseball.

"Fraxure, time to battle!" Hilbert threw his Pokéball like a baseball as well.

"I've been waiting for a good battle, let's start now, Beheeyem, use Psybeam on Servine!" Colress commanded.

"Cryogonal, use Aurora Beam on Fraxure!" Zinzolin instructed.

Both Pokémon released multi-colored beams at their opponents, but Hilda and Hilbert knew just how to counter. "Fraxure, use Focus Blast to counter Aurora Beam!" Hilbert extended his arm to the left.

"Servine, use Swords Dance to then enhance Leaf Blade and counter Psybeam!" Hilda commanded.

Fraxure made a fist and then launched a large, blue sphere of energy at Aurora Beam and since it was a Fighting-type move, it obliterated the ice and hit Cryogonal head on and sent the Ice-type back against the metal wall.

Servine then enhanced the power of her Leaf Blade with Swords Dance and redirected the Psybeam back at Beheeyem, who shook off the attack. Colress smirked and clapped for Hilbert and Hilda, "Impressive indeed, I hope you're this strong when you have children, maybe you can teach them a thing or two."

"Children?!" Hilda and Hilbert yelled, their faces turning red from embarrassment.

Colress chuckled and made his command, "Beheeyem, use Calm Mind and then let them have it with a Psychic attack!"

"Crygonoal, use Acid Armor and then use Ice Beam on Fraxure!" Zinzolin yelled.

"They're boosting up their attack and defense, no problem, Zinzolin, why don't I help you, Fraxure, use Taunt!" Hilbert commanded with confidence.

"I can increase attack power too, Servine use Swords Dance and then use Slam!" Hilda ordered.

Fraxure taunted Cryogonal and the Ice-type became infuriated, causing it use Acid Armor repeatedly in order to counter Fraxure's Taunt. Cryogonal liquefied a bit, but Hilbert took quick action, "Fraxure, let's end this with Draco Meteor."

"What, no!" Zinzolin realized the crisis of his situation and Crygonoal refused to obey his commands.

Fraxure shot up a large ball of energy that then burst into more; several blasted away computers and machines, while others hit Cryogonal repeatedly until the Ice-type dropped to the floor unconscious.

"Unbelievable," Zinzolin's eyes were wide as he returned Cryogonal.

Colress sighed at Zinzolin and the looked at Beheeyem, when Servine threatened to slam the Psychic-type it quickly reacted and sent Servine flying back against a metal wall. "Servine!" Hilda yelled as Servine cried in pain, but was still able to battle.

Hilbert turned his attention to Beheeyem and made a command, "Fraxure, use Shadow Claw!"

Colress raised an eyebrow and spoke, "Beheeyem, use Reflect."

When Fraxure roared and charged at Beheeyem with its glowing, black claw, Beheeyem set up a barrier in front of Fraxure and stopped the attack. "Now, use Psybeam," Colress instructed and after the barrier and Shadow Claw canceled out, the Psychic-type blasted Fraxure against a wall, making it cry in pain. The Dragon-type panted while it was on one knee and Colress prepared to finish it off until Hilda made a command.

"Servine, stop Beheeyem with Flash!" Hilda ordered and the Grass-type emitted a powerful light that left Beheeyem blind.

She turned to Hilbert who smiled as a thank you and she nodded happily. She then frowned at the blinded Beheeyem and made her final command, "Finish this with Leaf Blade!"

"Seeerviiiine!" Servine cried out and slammed its glowing green tail on Beheeyem, sending the Psychic-type flying against the metallic floor, knocking it out.

Hilda smiled with satisfaction and high-fived Hilbert for their victory, "We did it!" they yelled simultaneously.

"Incredible, marvelous, spectacular, but…this isn't over. You may pass to the other room and see how Lord N falls into the hands of his father," Colress laughed as Hilbert and Hilda frowned.

"C'mon!" Hilda told Hilbert and they ran to the next room with their Pokémon. Colress smiled cunningly as Hilda and Hilbert left while Zinzolin chuckled.

In the next room, the pair found N and Ghetsis battling. N was using an Archeops and Ghetsis used an Eelektross. "N!" Hilbert called him.

N turned to Hilbert for a second and flashed a quick grin, but was too focused on the battle to talk. "Archeops, use Dragon Claw!" N commanded.

"Do the same Eelektross," Ghetsis chuckled.

Both Pokémon made their claws glow and unleashed the Dragon-type attack, but it ended in a tie and both flew back. "Father, it's over, you've lost," N smiled confidently.

"Not yet my son," Ghetsis grinned cunningly, "Eelektross, use Discharge!"

"Eeeeeeeeeeee!" the Electric-type Pokémon cried out and released large amounts of electricity.

"Archeops, shield yourself with Rock Slide," N countered and as the electricity directed towards Archeops. The Flying-type unleashed a shower of rocks from above to cover it, failing Ghetsis's attack.

Ghetsis merely gave a smug smile, impressed by the counter. "Now let's use DragonBreath!" N extended his arm forward and Archeops released a stream of green energy.

"Counter with Flash Cannon," Ghetsis hit his cane against the metallic floor of the empty room. Flash Cannon easily countered DragonBreath and caused an explosion between the two Pokémon.

"Bind!" Ghetsis yelled and Eelektross jetted out of the smoke and wrapped itself around Archeops like a snake.

"Whoa, that's fast!" Hilda was amazed by how quick Eelektross assaulted Archeops.

"Now, use Thunderbolt," Ghetsis grinned and Eelektross shocked Archeops with full power, making the bird cry in pain.

Hilbert and Hilda watched in horror as both Archeops and N fell to Ghetsis's mercy.

N glared at Ghetsis in angry and spoke, "No, I won't lose to you, Archeops, use Hyper Beam."

With the last of its energy, as Eelektross shocked it, Archeops opened its mouth and shot a Hyper Beam in Eelektross's face, sending causing an explosion and sending the Electric-type crashing against the metal wall and leaving a dent.

When the smoke cleared, Eelektross had been knocked out, but much to everyone's surprise, Archeops was still up, injured and panting, but up. N gasped when he saw Archeops and mumbled, "Even after all that damage, it's still up."

"That's a really strong Archeops," Hilbert commented.

"I'll say," Hilda nodded and smiled, glad with the results.

Ghetsis began to clap quietly and spoke, "Well done N, you beat me for the first time out of sheer fortune, but I'm a man of my word."

"Hand over the sword, if I won you would give it, that was the deal," N frowned at the green-haired second in command of Team Neo Plasma.

"Of course, it's this one I believe," Ghetsis took out the sword from his coat and showed it to N.

N walked over to Ghetsis so he would receive it. Hilbert and Hilda were surprised Ghetsis was actually handing the sword over, knowing how much Ghetsis wanted it in order to achieve his goal.

Before N could take it though, Ghetsis slammed the blade of the sword against the metal floor and it shattered into millions of pieces, alarming everyone in the room. "He broke the sword!" Hilda yelled in shock.

"Why did he do that?!" Hilbert was also astonished.

N gasped and his eyes widened, "The sword…its blade never breaks, no one can break it, it's impossible, you-"

"I never had the sword," Ghetsis chuckled and grinned evilly as N analyzed the broken sword and wondered where the real one was.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash, May, and Pikachu were just about arriving to the JE Building. Pikachu remained on Ash's shoulder as they arrived at the entrance of the enormous building. "This is probably one of the longest runs I've had, the JE Building was nowhere near the square," May stated as she ran next to her boyfriend.

"I'm going to talk to Looker about giving us a closer target next time, but we're here now, so that's good," Ash smiled the brunette as he ran.

May nodded and grinned at him, when she looked straight at the entrance of the tall structure, she saw two large fountains and the statue of a man holding a globe, but what shocked her was the man standing on top of the globe.

"Ash, look," May frowned and pointed at the figure.

Ash turned to the direction May was pointing at and glared, "It's Pierce."

When they reached the high-ranking operative they stopped running and confronted the man. Pierce chuckled and jumped down the globe and landed a few feet in front of Ash and May, "Nice of you to come, I'm glad we have this chance to settle the score," Pierce said with a menacing voice.

"You lost last time, what makes you think you'll again?" May frowned at the green-eyed criminal.

"You simply got lucky, if it weren't for that pesky Krokorok, I would've annihilated you, but now it's just you two, and I will get my revenge," Pierce reached for two Pokéballs as he spoke.

"If it's a battle you want, then that's what you'll get, but you won't win," Ash made a fist as he spoke.

"Your end is nigh, time for combat, Galvantula, Golett!" Pierce called out his two Pokémon.

Ash reached for a Pokéball and called out, "Tranquil, you're up!"

"Purrloin, take the stage," May flung her Pokéball.

The two Pokémon appeared in front of Ash and May and glared at their opponent, sensing that Pierce was one of the bad guys. "Interesting selection, but let's see if it'll do you any good. Galvantula, use Signal Beam on Purrloin and Golett, use Telekinesis on Tranquil!" Piece remarked.

"Tranquil, get in there and counter Signal Beam with Air Cutter!" Ash commanded.

Tranquil cooed angrily and began to use the attack, but suddenly, Golett used Telekinesis and trapped the bird in its psychic powers. Pierce chuckled and spoke, "Got you right where I want you."

Ash gave May a disappointed look, but the brunette winked at him and made her command, "Purrloin, use Assist!"

Pierce crossed his arms and smirked, "How is a random move going to save you, May?"

All of a sudden, Purrloin shot out a stream of fire from her paw and it clashed with Signal Beam. "Like that," May pointed at Pierce and grinned confidently.

"Impossible," Pierce gasped and the attack easily overpowered Signal Beam and charged at Galvantula, sending the Bug-type flying against the statue of the man holding the globe.

Ash made a fist and praised May and Purrloin, "Blaziken's Flamethrower sure packed a punch!"

Pierce grinded his teeth and made a command, "Golett, forget Tranquil, go after Purrloin and use Earthquake!" Golett quickly turned its focus to Purrloin, freeing Tranquil in the process. The Ghost-type Pokémon then stomped on the ground and made it shake, but Ash took action just in time.

"Tranquil, fly over to Purrloin at full speed and get her on your back to avoid Earthquake!" the auburn-eyed teen instructed.

"Purrloin, jump on Tranquil at the precise time!" the brunette demanded.

Tranquil nodded and jetted to Purrloin just in time before the shake's vibration reached the cat. "Purrloin!" the cat cried out as it jumped onto Tranquil and found herself in the air, safe from Earthquake.

"Now Tranquil, get as close to Golett as fast possible, using Quick Attack!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"And once Tranquil gets you close Purrloin, deliver a Night Slash!" May extended her arm forward as well.

Pierce's eyes widened, "Galvantula, use Electroweb, and Golett, defend yourself with Defense Curl!"

Galvantula got up and released the electric web, but unfortunately for Pierce, Tranquil was much faster than the launch and dodged Electroweb. What made it even worse for the Team Rocket member was Golett was unable to use Defense Curl in time because Tranquil closed in on it just in time.

Purrloin delivered a powerful slash at Golett, which caused the Ghost-type to crash against the dirt while Purrloin and Tranquil flew off.

Ash, May, and Pikachu cheered and high-fived each other for their success while Pierce twitched in frustration, _those fools are making a mockery out of me, Golett's attacks are useless in this situation, both Purrloin and Tranquil are in the air and Tranquil is too fast for Galvantula's attacks, if only I could get Galvantula up there, but how, _Pierce thought and then looked at Golett and then at its hands. _That's it! Perfect, _the man smirked and looked at the teens.

Ash and May stopped cheering and looked at Pierce. "Ready to give up Pierce, unlike last time, we're battling at our best and you didn't catch us by surprise," May placed her hands on her hips and taunted him.

"You on the other hand are really slacking, I thought you stronger than this, you didn't even lay a hit on us yet," Ash crossed his arms and smiled arrogantly.

Pierce smirked and spoke, "Let's see if the world's strongest couple can save themselves from this then, Golett, launch Galvantula at Tranquil and Purrloin with Telekinesis and Galvantula, let out a powerful Thunderbolt when you're in the air so they can't dodge and envelope yourself with Thunderbolt to shock them when you hit!"

"What?!" Ash and May screamed simultaneously.

Golett used all of its power to fling Galvantula into the air. The electric spider then cried out and released a massive Thunderbolt and the Electric-type became enveloped in it, resembling an electric missile. At that moment, Purrloin jumped off Tranquil's back as the bird got shocked and dropped to the floor. The cat Pokémon then began to change, it was covered in blue energy and the energy dispersed in all directions, as the glowing Purrloin charged at Galvantula, it began to show signs of noticeable change and became much bigger.

"What, no!" Pierce cried out.

"Purrloin is evolving!" May cheered with joy.

"Perfect timing!" Ash fist pumped happily.

When the evolution stopped, a large purple cat revealed itself and before Galvantula could close in on it, the Dark-type released a spiraling stream of black energy that countered Galvantula and blasted it into the ground. When Galvantula crashed into the ground, a loud crash was heard and among the dust, an electric spider with swirl eyes appeared on a small crater.

Pierce gasped in horror as the cat dropped to the ground, beside Tranquil, who got up and was shocked by the outcome. The evolved Pokémon was slender and primarily purple, with yellow rosettes speckled on its fur. Its underside was yellow and so were the tips of its legs, its face was yellow and purple, with the purple fur shaped like a mask for the feline.

"What Pokémon is that?" Ash questioned.

"Let's see what the Pokédex says," May took out her Pokédex and listened to what it had to say.

"Liepard, the Cruel Pokémon and the evolved form of Purrloin, well-known for its beauty, Liepard uses the element of surprise when battling opponents, attacking before they can react," the automated voice of the machine stated.

"Liepard…" May admired the newly evolved Pokémon.

"Cool May, looks like it even learned Dark Pulse when it evolved. Now we're going to win for sure," Ash cheered and made a fist.

May nodded and grinned confidently, "Right, let's end this, Liepard, use Dark Pulse on Golett!"

"Tranquil, use Air Cutter on Golett too!" Ash ordered.

Liepard purred and coolly released the new move while Tranquil flapped its wings and unleashed the Flying-type move. Pierce frowned and made his command, "Golett, defend yourself with Defense Curl!"

"Golett!" the Ghost-type said and curled itself up. When the attacks hit Golett, multiple explosions occurred as dust rose into the air. Liepard and Tranquil kept attacking until they were certain Golett was out. When the dust, cleared, Golett lay on the floor unconscious.

Pierce's eyes widened and he dropped to the floor, returning Golett and Galvantula, "Unbelievable, I lost again…"

Ash and May smiled at their Pokémon for their work and returned them. They thanked their evolved Pokémon and May showed incredible content for Liepard as she put her away. "Let's go Ash; Giovanni must be waiting at the top of the JE Building if my hunch is correct."

"We'll check it out when we get inside," Ash told the brunette as they ran past Pierce, having no word to say to him. The couple rushed in with Pikachu and left the lone operative on the floor, whose pride was left broken.

* * *

"Lucario, we have to use our aura to analyze this whole sector, we cannot risk any life. Do you sense the aura of any humans or Pokémon nearby?" Roxas spoke with a stressed voice as he and Lucario rode on Dialga.

Dialga had been using Roar of Time to keep the building at bay and stop it from crushing millions below. Lucario and Roxas closed their eyes and traveled mentally throughout the area. Dozens of buildings were wrecked, cars were left on the middle of the street, items lay on the floor, but no people or Pokémon were sensed below.

_There are no signs of life down there, _Lucario stated.

_Let's check inside the building quick, Dialga can't hold onto the building for much longer, we have to destroy it, _Roxas answered Lucario through his mind.

The pair of aura users traveled inside the building and saw hundreds of dead construction workers along with some Pokémon, areas were left completely destroyed on the upper part of the tower. The lower levels were cleared and there was no sign of people or Pokémon.

_Numerous dead, but no life inside either, _Lucario said telepathically.

_They're gone, we cannot do anything now, if there is no life nearby, then we aren't risking anyone's life by blasting this thing into oblivion, _Roxas grinded his teeth regarding the fact that people had died inside, but there was no way of rescuing their bodies.

_Then finish it…_Lucario replied.

Roxas opened his eyes and looked at the crumbling building. He let out a deep breath and spoke, "Dialga, obliterate the tower." Dialga roared furiously and increased the power of Roar of Time. The stream of blue energy thickened and eradicated the building on contact. The sounds of the explosion were incredibly loud and the blast itself could be seen from miles away.

Millions from the outskirts watched as their beloved tower was blast into oblivion, the smoke and fire could be dispersing until it faded. The sounds of the blast pierced their ears, they became horrified to see the symbol of Castelia City fall right in front their eyes.

Dialga, Lucario, and Roxas watched as the smoke cleared and all that was left was the ruined lower part of the tower, while the upper part that dominated the sky was gone. _If I had let that building fall, thousands of homes would have been crushed, peoples' lives would have been put at risk just to put out the fire and many more would have died if the fire and smoke spread like that. _

_ You did what you had to do, it was an act of terror not even you could have predicted, you didn't know what was lurking those clouds, _Lucario assured Roxas that his act was not in vain and then looked above.

Roxas sighed and mumbled, "Right." "The mission is not over yet, the Majestic 12 is still here and I'm sure the Sword of Victory is still here as well, we have to go find it," Roxas spoke verbally.

Lucario nodded, but suddenly, a voice called them out, "Roxas, we didn't expect you to do that, but now it's time to blast you away."

The pair turned around with Dialga and saw the Iron Masked Marauder and Annie standing on a rooftop. "I was beginning to believe you were just going to let the tower fall, guess not," Annie laughed.

Roxas frowned and jumped on the rooftop with Lucario and confronted the pair. He calmly returned Dialga and then glared at the two, "You're responsible for the deaths seen today and for the destruction caused, you can say it was Team Rocket or the Team Plasmas, but it was your plan this whole time."

"Don't start lecturing us again about how immoral we are, we're just here to kill you," Annie smirked at him.

"We'll probably take Genesis and Zero's positions if we eradicate you now," Vicious chuckled.

Roxas reached for two Pokéballs and threw them like ninja stars, "Keep thinking that." All of a sudden, a Kingdra and Shiny Metagross appeared.

"We don't think, we know," Vicious smirked and threw his Pokéball.

"Go, Espeon!" Annie called out her Pokémon.

Next to her Psychic-type appeared a Beartic. The two Pokémon snarled at Metagross and Kingdra when they saw them. Kingdra and Metagross remained cool and just gave blank stares. Roxas closed his eyes and began to make his commands, "Metagross, Agility and Meteor Mash, Kingdra, SmokeScreen and then Twister."

"Who's he targeting?" Vicious raised an eyebrow, but then saw Metagross lifting its legs, and then hovering over to Beartic. Metagross rushed over to Beartic with phenomenal speed, "Wow, it's fast, but Beartic, stop Meteor Mash by grabbing Metagross right before it hits," Vicious countered.

Kingdra, shot heavy amounts of smoke at Espeon, but Annie acted quickly, "Espeon, disperse the smoke with Psychic!" Espeon's eyes began to glow and so did the smoke, the Psychic-type then instantly spread the smoke to get a view of Kingdra, but instead Twister shot out of nowhere and captured Espeon, making the Psychic-type squeal in fear.

Beartic reached its arms out for Metagross as it growled, "Beartic!"

However, while still keeping his eyes closed, Roxas made his command, "180 degree spin."

"Huh?" Vicious gave Roxas a baffled look and suddenly, before Metagross hit Beartic, it spun behind the bear. The movement was so quick, not even Beartic saw Metagross make the quick motion.

The Pseudo Pokémon then yelled, "Metaaaaagross!" and delivered a powerful punch with one its legs; the punch was shaped like a meteor. It then made Beartic fly against the floor of the rooftop and it cried in pain.

"How did Kingdra release a Twister so fast, it only took a sec to disperse all that smoke," Annie stated with confusion as she saw Espeon being spun inside the Twister.

"You should try to be faster next time, Kingdra, use Ice Beam on Twister and then deliver the final blow with Dragon Pulse," Roxas said coolly. Annie watched in horror as Kingdra released the Ice-type attack, which froze the Twister and Espeon. Before she could even make a command for Espeon to break free, Kingdra released the green energy ball at the ice twister and the blast caused an explosion that made all of the ice fall to the ground, along with an unconscious Espeon.

Annie's eyes widened with fear as she saw Espeon knocked out on the floor. Vicious, was also in a critical situation, Beartic was still struggling to get up from Meteor Mash and Roxas prepared for his next move. "How on earth are your maneuvers so fast, Beartic is the strongest Beartic out there, there's no way he should've been sent flying like that," Vicious grinded his teeth in frustration.

"Get some more practice, you're as pathetic as your partner," Roxas stated. "Metagross, finish with Hammer Arm before Beartic can get up," the raven-haired teen ordered.

"Stop Metagross with Ice Beam!" Vicious commanded. Beartic was still on its knees and Metagross hovered quickly over to the bear in a matter of milliseconds.

Beartic turned to Metagross and used Ice Beam, but it was too late, Metagross's glowing leg punched right through the ice and slammed Beartic against the concrete, leaving a mark of Beartic's head on the floor. The arctic bear was left unconscious after the hit.

Annie and Vicious returned their Pokémon as they gazed at Roxas with horror. Annie was breathing heavily because of the fear and spoke, "Who are you?"

Vicious's eyes also displayed signs of fear and the man inquired, "What are you?"

Roxas returned his Pokémon, who hadn't even broken a sweat and the sapphire-eyed teen opened his eyes and gave them a cold look with Lucario. "I'm the avenger and knight from the darkness, I bring justice into an unjust world, I'm the son Earth's greatest heroes, I'm Roxas and I'm going to bring into the light."

With those words, Roxas began to glow blue and he charged up an Aura Sphere with both his palms, "It's time for you to get a taste of your own medicine," the black-haired teen glared at them as he charged up the aura.

Vicious and Annie were paralyzed by fear and just watched the boy charge up the attack. Roxas then shot out the aura at them, but all of a sudden a black sphere clashed with the energy ball and caused an explosion between the Majestic 12 members and the teen.

"Huh?" Roxas raised an eyebrow and when the light from explosion faded, Vicious and Annie were gone.

_He was here, it seems, _Lucario informed Roxas.

_I know I sensed him the moment the attack was shot out, he must have sensed the lives of his lackeys coming to an end, _Roxas responded and looked through the corner of his eye to the direction from which the blast came from.

* * *

"Ash, how many more…flights of stairs…do we have to run?" May panted as she ran.

"We're almost there May, just a bit more," Ash encouraged the girl to continue.

May sighed and answered, "How I wish the elevator was working."

"Me too," Ash replied.

"Pikaaaaa," Pikachu panted as well since the mouse was forced to run up the stairs as well, he hadn't run up so much since the first time he encountered Mewtwo years ago.

May then began to talk again, "Ash, how did things get so bad? How did an entire city become forced to evacuate and a tower go into blaze with criminals running rampant?"

Ash sighed and responded, "I don't know May, I never thought of this every happening to be honest. I never expected things to get so disastrous, all those people who must be suffering right now…these guys, Team Neo Plasma, Team Plasma, and the Majestic 12, they're a whole new extreme level of danger. Lately, even Team Rocket has become more aggressive and violent."

"Well despite how evil they are, we'll be able to stop them, right?" May gave Ash a sheepish smile.

"Of course, May, we'll do it together," Ash gave her a warm smile as they continued running.

"And what about Roxas?" May asked the raven-haired teen.

"What about Roxas, May?" Ash became confused by her question.

"After seeing his face and seeing what he can do today, I'm beginning to think there is more to him than we thought and did you see the people he was with?" the brunette pointed out today's earlier events.

"Yeah, those guys sure had something fishy about them. That brown-haired girl and boy looked a lot like Hilda and Hilbert, the other guy also reminded me of someone else, but I can't really put my finger on it," Ash recalled the faces of the 3 teens Roxas was with.

"More importantly though, Roxas looked like you. It's not even funny how much he resembled you, except he was more serious," May said.

Ash pictured Roxas in his mind and did see why May would think that, from the hair to the facial expression Roxas had on, it was the same expression Ash had whenever he was stuck in a critical situation. "He does look a lot like me, but he doesn't have my eyes, May, his eyes actually look more like yours."

May pictured Roxas in her mind as well and saw why Ash thought that, his eyes were almost identical to hers, the color and everything. "Do you think we have some sort of connection to him Ash, I mean he's not alone shown up a lot lately when we've gotten into trouble, but he even bears a resemblance to both of us?"

"Pikachu pi pika," Pikachu got involved in the conversation.

"Pikachu's right May, Roxas is just a guy going out there being a hero and besides, there will always be one person out there who looks a lot like you. No one ever said we were physically unique right? I've met other people in the past that had some resemblance to me," Ash explained what he believed regarding Roxas.

May gave him a half-smile and responded, "Yeah I guess you're right." _I still feel like there's more to it though, it can't be coincidence he looks like us and it can't be coincidence that he shows up almost every time we're in trouble and when the Majestic 12 is up to no good, even Omega pointed it out. _

May then recalled what Omega said earlier today to Roxas when he arrived.

_"Explain to us Roxas, how you were able to arrive just before we initiated our attack, you and your friends arrived at such precise timing, but not only here, what about the incident at the Nacrene Museum, the assault on Juniper's Lab, and the battle in Pallet Town? What's your secret?"_

_ He never really did answer and when Omega brought it up, his friends got protective about it. There must be something between all those guys that we can't know about and it doesn't sound very good, _May thought in her mind.

She then changed her thoughts to something more important, "Ash, don't you wish you could help the others right now? They must be in more danger than we think."

"I wouldn't worry about them too much, Iris, Cilan, Hilbert, Hilda, Bianca, Trip, and the others are all experienced enough to take care of themselves and once we're done here, we'll got meet up with them as soon as possible, I promise," Ash told the brunette.

"Yeah, you're right, I guess it's just the moment that has me scared," May smiled, feeling more comfortable after what Ash just said.

_I just wish I could believe myself, _Ash thought in his mind and had a sad look on. _There's so much on my mind right now, why did Omega mention my father? Did he know him? I nearly fainted when I saw that tower begin to collapse until Roxas went off on a Dialga! How many people have already died because of the attack on Castelia City or how many have at least gotten injured? _Ash spoke to himself and became horrified by the thought of millions suffering out there.

"Ashy, whatever happens, we'll stay together right?" May grabbed Ash's hand and stopped him from running for a moment, causing Pikachu to stop as well.

Ash smiled at her and spoke, "May, I promise on my life that I'll never let anyone hurt you or Pikachu. I won't let anyone even lay a finger on you and I'll protect you no matter what. You guys are the reason for my happiness and I won't let some crooks take you away from me."

May's sapphire eyes became tender and pulled him by the collar and kissed him, she ran her fingers through his hair while Ash placed his hands on her waist. Ash pressed her tight against his body and kissed passionately in the traditional way, just lip to lip. The sounds of their kissing almost made Pikachu vomit, but the mouse could understand why they were sharing such a sweet moment, after all, great danger was lurking ahead.

They separated for a second and Ash whispered, "Never ever," then he quickly pressed up against his body and placed his arms around her back and just held her there was they kissed. May could feel everything inside her begging her to give him everything she had to offer as a female, but now wasn't the time or place; she quickly separated from him so they wouldn't get caught up in the moment and gross Pikachu out even further.

Ash just smiled at her and she grinned at him sheepishly, "Let's get going, only a few more flights," the brunette said and Ash silently nodded.

The trio quickly mobilized again and finally made it to the top floor and just like May said, there he was, and Giovanni looked over Castelia City through a glass panoramic view. The view wasn't as beautiful as they would've imagined. Multiple buildings were emitting smoke, Liberty Tower was no longer where it used to be and the teens only thought that it must've finally collapsed. Helicopters could be seen flying over the city aimlessly, probably trying to evacuate any remaining citizens.

Unfortunately, before the couple and Pikachu could to Giovanni, an all far too familiar trio blocked their way. "Hold it twerps; if you think you're getting to the boss, you're wrong!" Jessie stopped the teens in their tracks."

"Yeah, you'll have to beat us first if you want to get across this room and reach the boss!" James declared, causing an echo in the rather large room.

"I hate ta extend tis chapter any longer, but yeah, you'll half ta get through us fwirst!" Meowth pointed at them menacingly.

"If you want to have it that way," Ash frowned at them, accepting their challenge.

"Then fine, we'll battle you!" May yelled at them.

"Pikachu, go get them buddy," Ash told his pal.

"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu got onto the battlefield and prepared himself.

"Blaziken, let's end this quick, I'm tired of fighting bad guys all day!" May released her strongest Pokémon.

"Guys, I don't tink we'll win, but let's give it a shot anyway!" Meowth stated with confidence.

"Right!" Jessie and James shouted.

"Go Woobat!" Jessie called out her Pokémon.

"Yamask, let's go!" James summoned his Pokémon.

"Woobat, use Gust on Blaziken!" Jessie commanded.

"Yamask, Shadow Ball on Pikachu!" James ordered.

"Pikachu, use Counter Shield to block both attacks!" Ash demanded.

"Blaziken, use Fire Spin to take out both Pokémon while Pikachu is using Counter Shield!" May instructed.

And with that, Pikachu got in front of Blaziken and easily canceled out Team Rocket's attacks, while in the process, paralyzing Woobat and Yamask.

"Yaaaamask!" Yamask cried in pain because of the electricity and so did Woobat.

Blaziken quickly used Fire Spin and took advantage of their paralyzed states and shot them into the ground with scorching flames. James and Jessie yelled at their Pokémon to get up and continue, but Ash and May were not showing mercy today.

"Pikachu, Electro Ball to finish this quick!" Ash punched the air with fury.

"Blaziken, combine Fire Spin with Electro Ball to deliver the finishing blow!" May commanded with adrenaline.

"Pikaaaaachuuuu!" Pikachu launched the powerful electric ball at Team Rocket.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken cried and shot out Fire Spin. The fiery spiral enveloped Electro Ball and increased the attack power tremendously.

"Uh oh," Team Rocket said simultaneously and when the combination attack hit, an explosion took place, creating some smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Yamask and Woobat were out for the count while Jessie, James, and Meowth got covered in smoke because of the combination.

Meowth coughed and sighed, "Remember to make myself electric and fire-proof in my next surgery."

"Will do," Jessie and James coughed and answered at the same time.

Ash and May ignored them and ran over with their Pokémon to Giovanni, who had been silent and just watched the view this whole time, as if he hadn't acknowledged their presence. "Giovanni, you're coming with us," Ash told the leader of Team Rocket.

"You're crimes stop here," May added to what Ash said.

Giovanni chuckled and turned around to look at the couple. He gave them a sinister grin and focused his gaze on Ash, "Boy, you've foiled so many of plans it's not even funny. You ruined my plan regarding Mewtwo and you've wrecked Team Rocket's various agendas in the Kanto and Johto regions, there's no way I'm going to let you ruin this one."

When Ash heard Giovanni's words, his memory regarding the Team Rocket leader returned and recalled the incident with Mewtwo in Johto. "That's it; you were the one who wanted to capture Mewtwo back in Johto!" Ash grinded his teeth when he made the revelation.

"That's right boy, and you're going to pay along with your little girlfriend and Pikachu. However, revenge is not in my hands," Giovanni stated.

"Huh?" Ash and May said simultaneously.

Then suddenly, three dark portals appeared and out of them came out Zero, Genesis, and Omega himself. The 3 members of the Majestic 12 stood in front of Ash and May with intimidating postures and Ash, May, Pikachu, Blaziken, and the Team Rocket trio weren't sure what to expect.

Omega then spoke clearly, "Genesis, Zero, protect Giovanni, I'll handle Ash and May." The leader of the Majestic 12's cold and deep voice made the teens and Team Rocket's spines shiver as Omega reached for two Pokéballs and prepared to battle.

**Wow, LONGEST CHAPTER EVER and that was only part one. I honestly didn't intend it to be this long, really! Whatever though, congrats to anyone who made it through. I hope you enjoyed it, there was a lot of stuff going on in this chapter and I bet there's a ton of grammatical errors for typing through this thing insanely fast, but also I just wanted to say that this chapter focused more on all of the characters and their involvements, however, the next one will focus more on Ash and May, I promise. I hope you enjoyed the battles, the scenes, and everything else that took place, I tried to make the chapter concentrate as much as possible on Ash and May, especially at the end so I hope that came out well. I also wanted to apologize for leaving you guys for a month on a cliffhanger, I just got so caught up with other stuff I couldn't find the time to update, but now I'm free and ready to update and I'll try not to take as long as before. Thank you to everyone who had the patience to wait for me to update this chapter and for being able to read it, once again I hope you enjoyed it. There are many questions to be answered now with this chapter revealing so much, how does Omega know Ash's father? Which means yes, Ash's father will appear in the story, if he hasn't already. You guys voted and 92% voted yes for Ash's dad to appear so stay tuned for his appearance and also, who exactly is Roxas, Nate, Rosa, and Auro. I really want to hear your thoughts and opinions guys so please REVIEW PM ETC. REMEMBER REVIEWS ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED LOL, NEXT CHAPTER SHOULD BE UP IN JUST A FEW DAYS SO STICK AROUND TILL NEXT TIME! By the way sorry for leaving you at another cliffhanger!**


	21. Let the Games Begin Pt 2

Chapter 21: Aggressive Expansion Pt. 2

"Looks like we're just in time for the show," Ghetsis appeared out of a dark portal with Zinzolin and Colress. Behind the leaders of Team Neo Plasma appeared Hilbert, Hilda, and N, their hands tied with rope.

"Hilda, Hilbert, N!" Ash and May yelled when they saw them.

"Hey guys," Hilbert grinned with embarrassment.

"Sad to say, we fell into one of Team Neo Plasma's traps and are now hostages," N looked down in disappointment.

"As it turns out, Ghetsis was only holding a replica of the Sword of Victory, someone else has the real sword," Hilda informed the couple.

"You have big mouth there young lady," Archer was pushed out of a dark portal and dropped on his knees.

Behind the member, Brodie and Kodai were also pushed out. The three Majestic 12 members had their hands cuffed as Auro, Nate, and Rosa appeared behind the captives.

"So you were defeated after all?" Zero raised an eyebrow when he saw his comrades on the floor.

"The little brats had more tactics than we thought," Brodie grinded his teeth in frustration.

"There wasn't much we could have done," Kodai frowned at Auro, who merely chuckled.

"So, we have your operatives hostage, let them go and we'll set these clowns free as well," Nate glared at Ghetsis.

Omega chuckled and spoke, "I'm afraid no one is exchanging anything, a battle is about to commence and if anyone intervenes, they will be killed, ally or foe. I'll even have the pleasure of killing you with this sword," Omega took the Sword of Victory out of his coat and pointed it Ash while smirking.

"Fine, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get," Ash answered aggressively while clenching his fist.

"If we win you hand over the sword and return our friends, do you agree to the terms?" May responded with a stern tone as well.

The orange-eyed leader of the Majestic 12 gave May a blank look and answered with a deep and menacing voice, "Unfortunately…I don't." The leader then threw both his Pokéballs from his right hand as he held the sword with his left.

Ash and May glared at Omega as two memorable Pokémon appeared before them. The couple instantly recalled their frightening power and weren't sure what to expect this time. Tyranitar and Hydreigon roared violently as they stood in front of the teens, clearly ready to battle.

Auro quickly reached for a Pokéball, but Omega detected his movement and pointed the 4-foot sword at his face. With one intense glare from Omega, Auro grinded his teeth and put away his Pokéball.

Pikachu and Blaziken quickly took their positions and prepared to battle the Pseudo Pokémon. While Blaziken hadn't battled these Pokémon before, the Fire-type could easily sense their power and became alarmed, while Pikachu recollected the time when Tyranitar left him unconscious for days.

"Ash, do you really think we can win?" May whispered to her boyfriend.

"No, but we have no other choice May, remember what I told you though, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you," Ash replied with a whisper.

May gave him a soft grin and then frowned when she turned to Omega, who was staring blankly. Omega's deep voice echoed throughout the room when he spoke, "Let the battle commence!"

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack on Hydreigon!" Ash commanded.

"Blaziken, get close to Tyranitar and deliver a Sky Uppercut!" May shouted and mimicked an uppercut.

Omega chuckled and spoke, "Hydreigon, stop Pikachu and Blaziken's advances with Hyper Voice and Tyranitar, send them flying with Earthquake."

Before Pikachu and Blaziken could reach their targets, Hydreigon let out a piercing cry that hurt everyone's ears, except for Hydreigon's trainer. Pikachu and Blaziken fell to their knees because of the bursting screech and Tyranitar took advantage of this moment to stomp on the ground brutally. The floor beneath all of them began to shake like during an earthquake and the tremor caused Blaziken and Pikachu to fly back because of the force.

"Double Dragon Pulse," Omega pointed at the sword at Ash and May while he made the command.

As Pikachu and Blaziken flew back, Tyranitar and Hydreigon opened their jaws wide and shot out the energy ball at the pair. Luckily the couple was able to react in time and yelled their orders.

"Blaziken, use Counter Shield!" May screamed

"Pikachu, Counter Shield too!" Ash yelled.

The duo quickly gained their composure and used their attacks to shield themselves from the double attack. Dragon Pulse got destroyed on contact with the fire and electricity. Pikachu and Blaziken then dropped on the ground proudly as Omega gave them a half-grin.

"You think you're ready for anything, don't you?" Omega raised an eyebrow at Ash and May.

"We were born ready," May gave him an arrogant smirk.

"Bet you didn't expect us to counter your attack so easy," Ash made a fist and smirked as well.

Omega placed the tip of the sword on the floor and put his hands over the handle like a cane. He gave the couple a frown until the stare became a sly one, "While I must admit the Counter Shield method is an efficient one for dire situations, I'm afraid it's going to take more than that to defeat me. Let's see how you take my Draco Edge."

"Draco Edge?" Ash and May gave him confused looks.

Omega snapped his fingers and Tyranitar unleashed two rings of white energy while Hydreigon shot out a bright ball of energy at the ceiling. At that sudden moment, Ash and May realized what Omega and quickly countered.

"Pikachu, prepare to dodge the combination attack with Agility and destroy any rocks that get too close using Iron Tail," Ash instructed.

"Blaziken, you do the same while using Quick Attack and destroy any rocks that are too close with Sky Uppercut," May clenched her fists as she made her command.

Suddenly, Tyranitar unleashed sharp stones coming from the white energy while Hydreigon's energy ball burst into multiple others. The shower of super attacks aimed at Blaziken and Pikachu swiftly, but the pair's incredible speed allowed them to dodge and block as many as possible.

Pikachu dashed across the battlefield, panting and dodging Draco Meteor while using Iron Tail to destroy any stone aiming its away. Blaziken leaped from one part of the battlefield to another while bashing through stones that slashed towards it. The two Pokémon were doing well countering the combination, which stunned everyone watching, including Giovanni, Ghetsis, and the Team Rocket Trio.

The momentary advantage would not last though and out of nowhere, a Sandstorm developed, which made it difficult for Pikachu and Blaziken to see. The meteors and stones stopped shooting out though, but Ash and May were expecting an even more powerful attack now.

"Ash, how are we going to overpower them when we can't see a thing," May gave him a worried look.

"I don't know…" Ash grinded his teeth, feeling hopeless in the situation they were in.

Pikachu and Blaziken looked at each other and tried to sense Hydreigon and Tyranitar, however, the Sandstorm's powerful winds and sand blocked their vision and impaired their hearing. At that moment, a Double Dark Pulse burst out of the sandstorm and blasted the two Pokémon, creating a large explosion that caused the glass walls of the panoramic view to crack and break, falling to the city.

When the sand and smoke cleared, Omega and everyone else stood in their normal positions, but Blaziken and Pikachu were both panting as they lay on the floor.

"Blaziken!" May yelled with shock as she ran over to him.

"Pikachu!" Ash did the same with Pikachu and picked up his friend.

"Blaziken, you fought incredible out there, I've never been more proud of you," May held Blaziken's head close to her chest and shed a few tears onto its feathers. Blaziken gave her a weak smile and said his name weakly. The sapphire-eyed girl returned the Fire-type to its Pokéball and looked at the floor for a second, spotting small a stain of blood on it.

"Pikachu, I'm sorry I had to make you fight like that pal, but you did amazing. I didn't expect us to do as well as we did now, thank you buddy," Ash pressed Pikachu up against his chest and pushed back a few tears.

The couple lamented over their Pokémon's wounds and turned to Omega, who returned Tyranitar and Hydreigon without a word. Auro, Nate, and Rosa were left speechless by the battle and so were the villains.

"None of us expected you to last as long as you did, I'm impressed, I have to admit," Omega extended his right arm to the right.

Ash and May didn't say anything and only glared at the man. Omega then chuckled a bit and spoke, "Ash, this next trial is for you."

The raven-haired teen saw the menacing look in Omega's eyes and his eyes widened as he answered with "What?"

All of a sudden, Omega appeared in front of May and grabbed her by the throat. The next instant he appeared beside the panoramic view of the city. He held May out the room and into the free air, her hair motioned everywhere as the strong wind pushed it.

The brunette fidgeted and tried to break free, but it was futile. "Omega, let her go or else!" Ash screamed at the top of his lungs as he held Pikachu in his right arm. Seeing his beloved struggling to break free from his grasp and sensing the danger she was in, Ash felt his blood boil with anger.

Omega let out a sigh and glared at Ash, "Very poor choice of words." Then suddenly he let go of May and dropped her from the skyscraper to the bottom of city.

The brunette yelled her loudest as she felt the air push her towards her impending death and death pulling her downward. "May!" Ash screamed even more and jumped out of the building.

The auburn-eyed teen held on Pikachu tight as he dropped to the ground like an arrow, his eyes focusing on his falling girlfriend and his body motioning towards her.

In the building, Nate and Rosa gave Omega horrified gazes while Auro frowned. "You monster, I'm going to make you pay!" Auro cried out and charged at Omega, but then a small purple ball of energy enveloped Auro and the teen quickly fell asleep. The ball of energy then faded and Auro dropped to the ground.

"What did you do?" Rosa snapped at Omega, but she was also shot by a ball of purple energy, which placed the same effects on her.

Before Nate could also react, the attack was also shot at him and the boy dropped to the floor asleep.

Omega shook his head in disappointment, "To think, they're part of the world's greatest trainers."

Kodai, Archer, and Brodie then ran over next to Omega when they realized their capturers had gotten knocked out.

_Where did that come from? _Hilbert thought to himself and stopped a ghostly shadow hidden among the columns of the room, which sustained a small balcony.

Omega looked down at his 3 underlings and glared, "I should execute the three of you for your failure, and I should do it right now."

"But sir," Kodai gave him a frightened look with Archer and Brodie.

"Is he really going to…?" James had been watching with Jessie and Meowth from behind a column with a fearful look.

"I can't watch!" Jessie hid her eyes in her arms.

"Gulp," Meowth's pupils shrunk with fear.

Hilda and N closed their eyes as Omega lifted the sword and prepared to slash down the three of them. Hilbert was the only who watched with a terrified expression, then in three slashes, the sounds of metal clashing could be heard. Hilda opened her eyes and saw the metal handcuffs restraining the three members, on the floor.

Kodai, Brodie, and Archer got up and gave Omega thankful looks. "However, you can still serve of use to me," Omega told them and returned the sword in his coat.

The scene relieved everyone from a bloody event, including Team Rocket.

The 3 members looked at Zero, who merely chuckled while Genesis shook his head in disappointment. A beep sound was heard and Genesis checked the Xtransceiver on his wrist, "Omega, we have more company."

Omega then replied to his second in command, "We don't have time for more games. Ghetsis leave those children here and Roxas's friends, we won't need them."

"Don't you believe they will pose a threat to our plan if we leave them like this?" Giovanni questioned.

"Not at all, the only priority we have now is reaching the harbor and heading toward Liberty Garden," Omega responded.

"Then let's move," Ghetsis stated and with that the Majestic 12 and their allies, left the room through dark portals.

"We should be leaving to you know, whoever is coming will most likely arrest us," Jessie stated.

"Gud idea, there's a door in ta back ov ta room," Meowth pointed out.

"Then c'mon," James replied and tiptoed quietly with his partners to the door and exited, without any of the teens noticing.

The moment Team Rocket left the room; Looker arrived with Iris, Cilan, and Trip. Hilbert and Hilda's eyes widened with relief, "Looker!" they both shouted with relief.

"What happened here, where are Ash and May? My scouts had spotted them here earlier," Looker questioned them.

N gave Looker an expression of sadness, "They're gone, Ash leaped to his death after May was thrown out the view by Omega. Auro, Nate, and Rosa tried to fight back, but they were quickly knocked out."

"What?!" Iris, Cilan, and Trip exclaimed.

Looker gave N a blank stare and then closed his eyes, "We must get to the port as soon as possible, Ash and May, are in safe hands. You'll understand what I'm referring to when we get to the port."

The teens became surprised by Looker's calm attitude and Iris, Cilan, and Trip untied their hands. Hilda looked out the view and wondered if Ash and May were really alright.

* * *

Concurrently, Ash and May had been dropping, the auburn-eyed teen was closer to May now and extended his free arm out to reach her. "Aaaaassh," May let out as the fear of death overcame her, she closed her eyes shut and wrapped herself with her arms.

Ash aimed at May like a missile and reached her just in time; the boy wrapped his arm around the girl's waist and closed his eyes as they prepared to hit the ground. "Maaaay," Ash tried to say her name as he dropped with her.

May opened her left eye and saw the boy holding on to her, she could feel the rate of the drop increasing, but her fear of death vanished in his grip, she couldn't say anything, but she gave him a smile as Ash returned the gesture and shut their eyes.

_End of the road, _Ash kept his eyes closed and grinned, his body gave in to gravity and the couple, along with an unconscious Pikachu was about ten seconds from hitting the cement.

_Time to sleep, _May gave herself up to gravity and only cared about Ash holding on to her, seconds before her end.

3 seconds before hitting though, they landed on something else, it was warm and its skin felt reptilian. The air was no longer shooting upwards; instead it pushed from the side. The pair got confused by what was going on and they slowly opened their eyes.

May's eyes widened with joy when she realized where she and Ash had landed. Ash's eyes also glimmered with relief when he saw what he was lying on.

The creature flying them was all too familiar and its black color could instantly tell them who it belonged to. "This Charizard…" May stated, but got cut by Ash.

"Belongs to Roxas," Ash had never been so relieved to see one of Roxas's Pokémon saving them. They had dodged a bullet in the past thanks to his Metagross, his Dialga, and now Charizard.

Charizard turned its head slightly to the couple and grinned. "Charizard, we're so glad to see you," Ash told the Shiny Charizard.

"How did you know we were in trouble?" May asked the Pokémon sweetly.

Charizard looked to the right and growled; Ash and May followed its gaze and saw Roxas standing on a rooftop. The Fire-type Pokémon flew over to its trainer and landed gently next to it.

"Will there ever be a time when you don't save us, Roxas?" May inquired and then grinned sheepishly.

"You're always around to save us whenever we need it most, are you a guardian angel or something?" Ash raised an eyebrow and questioned the teen who resembled him.

Roxas chuckled and gave him a sly grin, "I was dashing over to the JE Building as fast as possible, I saw you two falling from a distance and I summoned Charizard to go rescue you, thankfully, he arrived just in time," the sapphire-eyed trainer petted his fire starter, who rubbed himself against Roxas warmly.

Ash and May got off Charizard and Roxas quickly noticed Ash's injured Pikachu. Roxas raised an eyebrow, "Ash, how did your Pikachu get so badly beaten?"

"We went after Giovanni in the JE Building and instead got into a battle with Omega, we had no other choice, but to face him," Ash sighed and frowned at the tower where the battle took place.

"I see, May, are any of your Pokémon hurt?" Roxas turned to the girl and gave her a soft grin, making Ash slightly jealous.

May took out a Pokéball and spoke, "My Blaziken also got injured in the battle," the brunette's tone was a saddening one.

Roxas nodded and threw a Pokéball gently into the air; Lucario quickly appeared when the ball opened. _Lucario, I'm sure you heard the whole thing from inside your ball; _Roxas spoke with his Pokémon telepathically.

_I did, _Lucario replied, his gaze shifted to Ash, May, and then to their Pokémon, _place your Pokémon on the floor; I'll cure them as best as I can. _

The duo nodded and May released her unconscious Blaziken, she then placed Blaziken next to Pikachu. The two silently watched as Lucario walked over to them and began releasing energy. It put its hands in front of its body and a light pink ball of energy appeared in between them. Lucario opened its arms and the orb broke apart into multiple light pink sparkles, releasing waves of light pink energy with light pink sparkles in it that expanded outward, the energy transferred into Blaziken and Pikachu and soon their wounds began to cover up, their bruises and cut faded away like magic.

As May watched the process she mentioned something, "This technique or move, it's the same one you used on Ash in Pallet Town, isn't it Lucario?"

Lucario nodded, _correct, it's called Heal Pulse. _

"Is this the move they used to save me, May?" Ash asked, looking at the brunette and then at Lucario.

"Yes, we used it to save you from death, however, it took more energy than what Lucario is exerting right now, we had to use up almost all of our aura," Roxas informed Ash.

"Oh," Ash bobbed his head, he looked at Roxas and smiled, "Well, thank you for that."

Roxas gave Ash a half-grin and nodded. When their attention turned back to Pikachu and Blaziken, they saw the Pokémon slowly starting to open their eyes. "Pika?" Pikachu said as he sat up after Lucario finished healing the mouse.

"Blaze," Blaziken also sat up and looked confused. The two Pokémon could only remember their fight with Omega and then they blacked out.

"Don't worry guys, the danger is over, we managed to get away from Omega after you got knocked out," Ash placed his hands on his hips and gave them a reassuring smile.

"You can breathe again," May teased them and giggled. Ash and May began petting their friends while Roxas and Lucario gazed with interest.

_How does it feel? _Lucario asked Roxas.

_How does what feel? _Roxas looked at Lucario.

_Seeing them after so long, being able to talk to them, and saving them, _Lucario responded.

Roxas chuckled and replied, _they are loved and adored by everyone, I just have an extra soft spot for them, and I always wonder what things would have been like if I had been there when they needed me, just like they have always been there for me. _

_ You no longer need to wonder, you're impeccable timing for saving them has even amazed them. _Lucario chuckled and smiled at his trainer and friend.

Roxas smiled and nodded, he then turned to Ash and May, "Guys, we need to get going, the Majestic 12, Team Rocket, Team Plasma, and Team Neo Plasma are still around. Our next stop is Castelia Harbor; flying is our fastest method of transportation, you in?"

"You bet," Ash grinned at Roxas.

"We'll go with you, right?" May asked the older teen.

"Well, I'm going to be riding Dialga and you will be riding Charizard, will that be any trouble, we can still fly alongside each other," Roxas crossed his arms and grinned at May.

"Great," May beamed a smile at Roxas.

Ash felt another hint of jealousy in his heart, but the boy quickly pushed it aside. Roxas then threw a Master Ball in the air and Dialga burst out, roaring into the air. Roxas turned to Lucario and reached for his Pokéball, _its best if you stay inside your ball, I'll let you know if the situation gets critical again. _

_ Very well, _Lucario nodded and Roxas returned the Aura Pokémon into its Pokéball.

"You should probably return inside your ball Blaziken, you need to rest," May told her Fire-type, who nodded and went back inside its ball.

"Pikaaachu!" Pikachu ran up to Ash and climbed his shoulder.

"Alright bud, let's get going," Ash grinned at Pikachu and they climbed onto Charizard.

Ash extended his arm out so May could climb and the brunette happily accepted. _This kind of feels like the last time Ash and I rode his Charizard, except this is a different one and Pikachu and Roxas are here…still, I feel like this is kind of romantic, me and Ash on a Charizard. If only the situation weren't so bad, I could relax, _May thought to herself.

The brunette wrapped her arms around Ash, and the black-haired teen slightly blushed. Pikachu hung onto Ash's shoulder and the boy grabbed onto Charizard's neck. May placed her head on Ash's back for a second as a sign of affection and boy squeezed May's hand as she held to his stomach.

Charizard looked at Dialga and Roxas, who nodded, "Let's go," and within seconds they flew off at a modest speed.

"Roxas, did you ever manage to stop that building from falling?" Ash asked the sapphire-eyed teen who rode next to them on his Dialga.

Roxas sighed and answered, "You mean the Liberty Tower? No, I couldn't do anything to stop it from collapsing so Dialga had no choice to destroy it. The sad part is, it was just finished being constructed to replace the Global Trade Center Tower in another part of the world, and Castelia City would have been the capital of our planet's global economy."

"That is sad…" May thought about how hard people must have worked to construct the power only to have it destroyed by madmen.

"Was there anyone that…you know…died?" Ash inquired, not comfortable when asking things regarding death.

"Lucario and I detected many construction workers who didn't make it," Roxas recalled the amount of bodies he saw lying around the fiery tower when he used aura to detect any life.

Ash, Pikachu, and May put on solemn faces as they thought about the people who died within the building. All of a sudden, a Dragon Pulse shot from behind, which Charizard nimbly dodged.

"What was that?" May became frightened and turned around.

"Drat," Roxas grinded his teeth when he looked behind them.

"Not them again," Ash glared at their attackers.

"Miss us already?" Brodie flew behind them with a Dragonair.

"We're here to finish the job," Genesis spoke with a threatening voice as he appeared with Brodie, riding a Dragonair as well.

"And ensure our victory," Omega led Genesis and Brodie, the leader rode his Salamence as they flew up to Ash, May, and Roxas.

"Dialga, stop them with Blizzard!" Roxas commanded. Dialga spun around and confronted the dragon riders.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Salamence!" Ash pointed at Omega.

Charizard, without needing a command, shot out a Fire Blast. Dialga's chilly breath unleashed a massive storm of ice and snow aiming at the Majestic 12. Pikachu shot a Thunderbolt at Salamence and Charizard intended to burn out all three members.

"Dragonair, use Fire Blast to stop Blizzard!" Brodie and Genesis ordered simultaneously. The double Fire Blast easily melted away Dialga's attack.

"My Dragonair is pretty strong, huh Genesis?" Brodie gave him a cocky grin.

"You fool, your Ditto merely transformed into my Dragonair and copied all of its stats, it's a cheap trick if you ask me," Genesis glared at Brodie through his red helmet.

"Dragon Claw," Omega demanded and Salamence charged at a unified version of Thunderbolt and Fire Blast. The Dragon-type bashed through the combination at an incredible speed with Dragon Claw and got close enough to Charizard to slash the Fire-type.

"Charizard, dodge, quick!" Roxas grinded his teeth while Ash and May got intimidated by Salamence's fearsome power.

The Shiny Charizard narrowly dodged Dragon Claw and glared at Salamence. "Dialga, Rock Slide on Salamence!" Roxas commanded.

Above Salamence and Omega, shower of boulders shot from multiple portals, aiming down at them. "Dragonair, use Agility and then Aqua Tail to counter Rock Slide!" Brodie and Genesis came from nowhere to protect their leader.

"No, you don't, Pikachu, stop them with Thunderbolt," Ash ordered.

"Charizard, use Fire Blast to stop them too," May commanded.

Pikachu and Charizard intervened with their attacks, but the Dragonair nimbly dodged and countered the Rock Slide with Aqua Tail. _This isn't going to work, _Roxas grinded his teeth and turned to Ash and May. "Charizard, get Ash, May, and Pikachu out of here, that's an order!" Roxas yelled at his Fire-type.

Charizard looked at Roxas and nodded sternly. "Charizard, wait, Roxas, we're staying and we're going to help you," Ash told the black-haired teen.

"No Ash, I'll handle them myself, Charizard, go now!" Roxas demanded.

"Roxas, no, we're not going to let you get hurt!" May screamed, refusing to leave as well, but Charizard jetted off before Roxas could respond.

Roxas gazed at the couple that flew off and could hear their faint screams of frustration, _if you knew would understand, _the sapphire-eyed teen sighed.

"The things we do for our loved ones, inexplicable," Brodie teased Roxas and chuckled.

Roxas frowned at Brodie and spoke, "Shut up and battle."

Omega smirked and replied, "Let's see the real Roxas in action."

Roxas glared at Omega and made his command, "Dialga, use Flash Cannon!" With that command, Dialga cried and released a beam of bright silver energy at the trio.

The Majestic 12 members split up in the blast and the attack blasted a building, causing smoke to fly everywhere. Roxas closed his eyes and then opened them that very instant, "Dialga, dodge the Double Dragon Rush!" Dialga flew into the jungle of skyscrapers as the pair of Dragonair shot out using Dragon Rush, but missed Dialga.

Dialga and Roxas wandered among the skyscrapers and the Legendary Pokémon narrowly dodged a Dragon Pulse blasted by a fast-moving Salamence. _Foolish child, what are you? Stop trying to play the hero, there's nothing you can do to stop us; you are nothing more than feckless neophyte whose attempts to save an entire world are futile. _Roxas could feel Omega's words try to trespass his mind, but the sapphire-eyed teen remained focused.

"Thunder Wave!" Brodie and Genesis appeared again and tried to paralyze Dialga.

Their Dragonair shot out electric waves, but Roxas had a way to counter, "Rock Shield!" With that command, Dialga unleashed an improvised version of Rock Slide and trapped itself in a shower of rocks to counter the Double Thunder Wave.

"Now, disperse!" Roxas yelled and Dialga shot out the rocks and Brodie and Genesis.

"Dodge with Agility," Genesis countered.

"You do the same, Ditto," Brodie commanded and the pair barely avoided the attack.

_Very good, but not good enough, _a voice told Roxas and out of nowhere, Omega and Salamence shot out of a building and slashed Dialga with Dragon Claw. Dialga cried in pain as Roxas glared at Omega, who smirked at Roxas.

"Salamence, Double-Edge, now," Omega instructed his Salamence to attack Dialga.

"Dialga, stop Salamence with AncientPower!" Roxas countered.

"Defend with Aqua Tail," Genesis watched in the sidelines and his Dragonair, shot out a stream of water from its tail, canceling out AncientPower.

The moment Dialga's sphere of energy disappeared, Roxas acted quickly, "Dialga, sidestep!"

Dialga nimbly dodged Salamence, but Omega acted fast, "Salamence, spin and use Dragon Pulse!" The instant Dialga dodged, Salamence spun back to face Dialga and used Dragon Pulse.

"Dialga, use Flash Cannon!" Roxas ordered. The two energy attacks clashed with each other and created an explosion between the two Dragon-types.

"Dialga, end this with Blizzard!" Roxas demanded and Dialga released an icy wind from its breath and into the smoke.

_Too slow, _Omega's telepathic voice told Roxas and the boy's eyes widened. "What?!" the sapphire-eyed teen quickly turned to his left and saw Omega dashing at him with the Sword of Victory.

Roxas grabbed the blade with his hands, his leather gloves protecting his palms from the blade of the sword. Omega stood on Salamence and struggled to push the sword against Roxas, the silver-haired leader was clearly trying to kill him.

"You die today boy," Omega spoke menacingly.

Roxas gave Omega a fiery glare and fought back the blade with one hand, "Not today, not tomorrow!" At that sudden moment, Roxas used his free arm to make a sword out of aura and parried the Sword of Victory out of Omega's hand down to the city below.

"The sword!" Brodie screamed and Omega glared at Roxas.

"Salamence, Thunder Fang on Dialga," Omega commanded while still standing on his dragon.

"Dialga, fight off with Thunder!" Roxas reacted fast and intended to jump after the dropping sword, but Brodie and Genesis were flying over to it as well.

Suddenly, out of the blue, a young boy riding a Charizard with a young girl and a Pikachu caught it. Ash grabbed the sword by its handle and winked at Roxas, who was in shock as Dialga blasted Salamence away with Thunder.

Salamence and Omega moved away from Dialga and Roxas and rushed toward Ash, May, Pikachu, and Charizard. Genesis and Brodie also flew toward the couple and the Pokémon. "Roxas, get out of here now!" May yelled at the raven-haired teen.

"What are they doing?" Roxas's eyes widened, not sure whether he should be thankful for them arriving and retrieving the sword, or kill them himself for returning to risk their lives.

"Charizard, use a Counter Shield Blast Burn!" Ash commanded.

Roxas's eyes widened even more when he heard the command and the last thing he saw was Charizard releasing a powerful stream of fire in all directions, seconds before the Majestic 12 members closed in on them. The most powerful fire attack caused multiple explosions in the area and created large amounts of smoke.

Roxas stood petrified there, sitting on Dialga, wondering if they were still alive, he fell into silence for a second, but then Charizard dashed out of the smoke with Ash, Pikachu, May, and the sword. "C'mon!" Ash shouted at Roxas as they flew off into the distance.

The raven-haired teen watched them fly off and chuckled, "Well, now I see where my talents for successful missions came from."

He closed his eyes and spoke to his Charizard from a distance, _Charizard, don't turn back again to rescue me, I'll be fine, just take those kids to safety._

Charizard, who received the message, sighed and began flying much faster, obeying his master's orders this time. Roxas turned to the smoke and when it cleared, he found no one. "They must have gotten away, nonetheless, it won't be long before we meet again," the sapphire-eyed teen shifted his gaze to the sea and focused his eyes on an island with a lighthouse.

* * *

"Why didn't Roxas come back with us, the whole point was to get him out of there," May said with a worried tone.

"I guess, he just didn't want to be saved," Ash also sounded a bit concerned.

"Piiiiii," Pikachu also wondered why Roxas hadn't followed them back.

Charizard then roared in the direction of the port and they couple looked ahead. "Hey, look who it is," Ash smiled when he saw the people at the harbor.

"It's Auro, Nate, Rosa, N, Looker, Bianca, Trip, Hilbert, Hilda, Iris, and Cilan!" May cheered.

"Hey look, it's Ash and May!" Hilbert saw the pair in the sky.

"What are they doing with a Charizard?" Iris seemed puzzled.

"Isn't that the Sword of Victory?" Looker took note of the weapon Ash had carried in his right hand.

"Hey guys!" Cilan waved at them with the others as they smiled with relief.

"Hey!" Ash and May yelled and waved happily as they descended.

When they finally landed, they were embraced in hugs by Hilda and Hilbert. "We thought we lost you," Hilda gave the couple a sheepish grin.

"We saw you fall, how did you survive?" N questioned them.

"Looker told us not to be concerned over it because he believed you were going to be alright," Trip had his arms crossed, speaking a serious voice.

"Well, we made it in one piece thanks to this Charizard," Ash petted the Shiny Charizard.

"We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Roxas and his Charizard," May also petted Charizard.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu basically stated the same thing as his friends.

"Wasn't Pikachu badly injured also?" Hilbert asked the teens.

"Roxas must have used Lucario's Heal Pulse, didn't he?" Auro questioned with a knowing smile, which the trio nodded too.

"There's one thing puzzling us though, how did you get the Sword of Victory?" Rosa pointed at the weapon in Ash's right hand.

"We were flying back here with Roxas, but Omega and two his friends attacked us. At one point, Omega tried to kill Roxas with the sword, but Roxas slashed it out of his hands with this aura sword or something. Charizard quickly flew in and I grabbed it, we got away with the sword when Charizard used an improvised version of Blast Burn," Ash explained the story in short and sweet terms.

"Where's Roxas now though?" Nate asked the raven-haired teen.

"After we got the sword and bought us time to escape, Roxas refused to leave and Charizard flew on without him, the whole point of that was so Roxas could escape with us, because earlier Roxas forced us to leave, but we came back for him and that's when we got the sword," May added more to what Ash said.

"Typical Roxas," Rosa sighed with Auro and Nate.

Auro then looked at Charizard and spoke, "Charizard, you should probably fly back to Roxas and see if he's where you left him. He might need you more over there right now if he's still battling Omega."

Charizard roared and extended his wings proudly, the Fire-type then blasted off back into the city in search of his master. "So what's the plan?" N asked who had been forced to ally himself with the enemy if he wished to stop his father and his allies.

"My marine unit should be arriving soon, they will be transporting us to Liberty Garden and now that we have the Sword of Victory, we will be able to awaken Victini and send it to a more secure area," Looker informed N and the others.

At that moment, the ground beneath them begun to shake and a large black submarine merged from the water. "What's that?" Iris looked with shock.

"Its bad news," Nate glared at the submarine.

Out of the submarine came out Phantom, with Zero and Charon. "There are two types of people in this world, one has a plan and the other doesn't, I'm the type who has a plan. The only ones getting to Liberty Garden and capturing Victini will be us, I'm afraid." Phantom chuckled.

"You in what army?" Ash glared at Phantom and his comrades.

Suddenly, the submarine beneath them began to lift up and a large ship with characteristics of a submarine, its design was similar to that of a military ship and stretched about 200 meters long. Its windows were pitch-black and it only had a few chrome-colored streaks on it. On the wall of the ship it read "S.S Illuminatus". The submarine as it turns out, was only part of the structure of this black monstrous ship. "This subship and the members of Team Rocket and Team Neo Plasma are part of our army," Zero answered, laughing.

Ash, May, Pikachu, and all others felt a sense of hopelessness return as they looked at the cruise-sized ship stationed in front of them. "How were you able to keep something like that underwater?" Cilan inquired, intimidated, but curious about the ship.

"It's a subship lad, designed to be a ship and can operate underwater thanks to the advanced technology in the hands of the Majestic 12 and the funds of Team Rocket and Team Neo Plasma, works like a submarine underwater and like a cruise ship on the surface, convenient huh?" Charon cackled and smiled cunningly at them

"Now board the ship, you are all prisoners of Team Neo Plasma and Team Rocket," a voice called out and the gang turned around and saw a dozen Neo Plasma grunts and Rocket grunts.

They all grinded their teeth in frustration as Phantom dropped on the floor after jumping from ship. "I'll take that," the old man snatched the sword from Ash's hand.

"The sword!" N shouted.

Phantom chuckled, "Relax boy, I'm just going to have some fun with it." The man then walked into the ship as he spun the sword from its handle.

"Handcuff them all," Zero ordered and their allies forced the gang to drop and on their knees and let them be handcuffed.

"How did I not see this one coming," Looker whispered to himself in an angst tone.

"What's the plan now?" Nate mumbled to Rosa and Auro.

"We've been in worse," Rosa murmured back to Nate.

"That's right and the best part about this time is that we have a backup plan," Auro smirked as they all entered the military ship.

"Ash, they're more relentless than Team Rocket," May sighed and walked beside him.

"I know, but look at the bright side May, I'm sure we'll get out of this, we always have," Ash said, pointing out the fact that this is not the first time they've been captured.

May grinned at shamefacedly and responded, "You're right, we'll be out of this one in no time."

As they continued walking to the lower levels of the ship, they only saw Rocket and Neo Plasma grunts lurking, chatting, and glaring at them as they walked by while being escorted by other grunts.

_Father, this is the result of your madness, the destruction of Castelia City is in your hands, _N thought of his father with disgust and every single Plasma grunt in a black militaristic uniform disgusted him even more.

The group then stopped for a minute in front of a room where a Rocket Grunt typed in a password on a keypad and the door automatically opened by sliding to the left. "Get inside," Plasma Grunts stated simultaneously and pushed the members of the gang in.

They all dropped to the floor and looked at their common enemy with anger. The Plasma and Rocket grunts then made way for Charon, who entered the room with two more Plasma grunts. "I hope you plan on enjoying your stay, it's going to be one heck of a trip," Charon laughed.

"Your humor is as bad as your battling skill, old man," Auro glared at Charon.

Charon frowned at Auro and turned to the grunts behind and ordered them all to leave, except for his two personal guards. "What kind of Majestic 12 member needs to walk with guards," Rosa taunted the man even further.

"Hey, respect your elders lady," Charon glared at Rosa.

"What exactly are you here for?" Trip asked the old geezer.

"Being such a highly respected member of the organization, I was ordered to supervise you fools until we arrive in Liberty Garden," Charon informed them.

Ash sighed and looked at May and Pikachu, they both grinned at the boy and tried to tolerate Charon's obnoxious behavior. Suddenly, the ship began to move on Charon spoke, "Looks like we're mobilizing, this is going to be fun."

The gang glared at Charon for as long as they could while the man beamed a smirk.

* * *

Back in the city, Roxas flew to the port on Dialga. _I shouldn't have spent so much time looking for those three; they might already be at the island, not to mention, I wonder if Ash and May made it to the harbor safe. _

As he rode through the skyscrapers with Dialga, Roxas spotted his Charizard flying his way. "Charizard, what are you doing here?" Roxas questioned his friend, who stopped in front of Dialga and him, making Roxas and Dialga stop.

The Fire-type leaned his head closer to Roxas and the aura user placed his hand on Charizard's head. He closed his eyes and began to see everything Charizard had seen since they left him. When Roxas finished reading Charizard's mind, the Fire-type pulled back and grinned.

"I'm glad they made it safe and caught up with everyone, why don't we head there together pal?" Roxas inquired.

Charizard nodded and Roxas got on the Fire-type. "Dialga, you fought hard today, return and rest," the raven-haired teen returned his Legendary Pokémon and quickly dashed off to the harbor.

Charizard blasted off at an amazing speed and they arrived at the harbor in a few minutes. When they arrived where Charizard left Ash and May, they were surprised to see no one was there.

Roxas raised an eyebrow and descended. "Well this is odd, you were here only a few minutes ago, how could have they vanished so quickly."

Roxas observed his environment and analyzed it carefully. He put on some special goggles that were in his black coat and searched for any traces. "Nothing," the teen sighed, but then spotted a camera on a wooden post.

"This must be the security cameras placed to protect the harbor if there's ever any crime, may be this will explain what happened," Roxas detached the camera from its post and took a look at the most recently recorded video.

He frowned when he saw Phantom and then a subship, which is something he had already been familiar with. His frown turned into a glare when he saw the grunts handcuffing his friends and allies and then forcing them inside the ship. After that, Roxas stopped the video and dropped it on the floor, "They weren't smart enough to make sure nothing recorded the event, guess I'll have to go after them now."

Roxas turned to Charizard and gave him a half-grin, "Charizard, you've also done a lot today, return and earn your rest too."

Charizard nodded and returned into its ball. Roxas then reached into his coat and pulled out another Pokeball and threw it. From the ball emerged Kingdra, who gazed at Roxas slyly. The sapphire-eyed teen got on its back and spoke, "Kingdra, swim us to Liberty Garden as fast as you can."

Kingdra nodded and jetted off with Roxas riding her. _If Auro, Nate, and Rosa are inside the ship, the Majestic 12 won't have control over the ship for long, I'm certain of it,_ the teen thought.

* * *

"You know I'm getting kind of seasick," Bianca said and held back the urge to vomit.

"The ride is only 30 minutes, missy, you can hold it till we arrive," Charon told the blond-haired girl.

Charon turned to Ash and smirked, "What's wrong sonny, you don't look to happy."

"Your company isn't the most pleasurable one, Charon, I rather have Omega supervising us instead of you," Auro chuckled and smirked at the geezer.

The other teens in the room, including N laughed quietly at Auro's remark.

Charon's eyes widened with rage and he slapped the blue-haired teen, "Show some more respect or I'll be the one cracking jokes when you're dying."

Auro spit on the man's black shoes and Charon turned away that very instant, "Back in my day, children feared people my age," Charon murmured.

Charon's Plasma Guards watched the teens' movements with attentive eyes making sure no one tried anything. "Hey guard, are you here for the same reason Charon is? Because you're not respected or needed by your comrades?" Nate taunted the Plasma Guard on Charon's right.

"Wow, these guys sure know how to disrespect others," Ash whispered to May.

"I know, I'd hate to get on their bad side," May whispered back.

"Break him," Charon looked at the Plasma Guard who had gotten insulted.

The male Plasma Guard nodded and turned to Nate, grinning evilly. "Let me teach you something about manners," the Plasma Grunt picked Nate up by his collar.

"Let me teach you how to break a bone," Nate smirked and head butted the Plasma Guard, making him drop to the ground.

"Guard, get him!" Charon yelled.

The Plasma Guard charged at Nate with a steel pole and prepared to hit the brown-haired teen. "Nate, watch out!" Rosa screamed, but Nate winked at her and the brunette blocked the bash from the pole with his handcuffs.

The pole slashed through the handcuffs and freed Nate. The boy chuckled and spoke, "That's quite an arm you've got there."

The muscular Plasma Guard tried to hit Nate again, but the boy grabbed the pole and pulled it from the grunt's grip, making the guard's arm stretch out. Nate then went on to hammer arm the guard's arm, making him drop the pole because of the pain.

"My arm," the grunt groaned as he felt it vibrate.

Nate then said, "Suck it up," and spin kicked the grunt against the metallic wall before he could reach for a Pokéball.

"Darn, if you want to do something right, you have to do it yourself," Charon reached for a Pokéball, but before he could, Nate threw a pair of bolas that were in his ninja-like suit. The weapon wrapped itself around Charon and made the old man drop, not giving him a chance to call out his Pokémon to battle.

"Blast it," Charon groaned as he lay on the floor like a hogtied victim.

"It can't be done right if you can't even do it yourself," Nate chuckled and teased the Majestic 12 member.

"Hey Nate, do you mind freeing us from these handcuffs?" Hilbert called the brunette.

Nate raised an eyebrow and grinned sheepishly, "Right, I'm on it." Nate then reached into Charon's coat and pulled out the keys that would free his friends.

As Nate freed each his friends, Charon talked with a spiteful tone, "You won't get away with this; Omega will stop and obliterate you all."

After Nate freed all of his allies he walked over to Charon and sighed, "Yadda yadda yadda, we get it gramps, big bad Omega is going to blow us up." He then picked up Charon and threw him into a corner of the room, "Now stay," Nate spoke to the member like a dog.

"So what's the plan, Auro?" Looker questioned the blue-haired teen.

"Yeah, how are we going to get out of here?" N inquired.

"The only way out of this empty metal room is typing a password on the keypad so the door can open," Ash examined the room.

"And I don't think Charon is generous enough to give us the password," May looked over at the Majestic 12 member.

"You're darn right I won't," Charon tried to free himself as he spoke.

"Don't worry, we're always prepared," Rosa took out a detonator.

"What's that for?" Iris asked the brunette with confusion.

"It'll help us get out of this room along with this," Auro showed them an object that looked like C4.

Everyone's eyes widened when Auro showed them what he was holding. "Are you really going to use that in here?" Cilan laughed nervously.

"Is it safe?" Bianca laughed with a nervous tone.

"It doesn't look like the safest tactic," Trip told Auro.

"Isn't that…military equipment?" Ash gulped when he asked.

"Pika," Pikachu also saw the device as extremely lethal.

"Aaaax," Axew said, sensing the same thing as Pikachu.

"And wouldn't the device just blow this entire room up?" Looker raised an eyebrow, wondering what teens were doing with such weaponry.

"I don't like the sound of that," Hilbert grinned sheepishly.

"Neither do I," Hilda giggled nervously as she clung onto Hilbert, who blushed lightly.

"Will you all relax; we've done this with Roxas many times before, just watch," Nate assured them that everything was going to be all right.

"Yeah, no reason to be clinging onto our boyfriends right now," Rosa teased Hilda, who immediately separated from Hilbert and the two blushed.

Everyone in the room laughed at them and May elbowed Hilda in a teasing way while Ash winked at Hilbert, the Unova pair laughed nervously as their foreign friends teased them.

Auro placed the C4 on the metallic door and ordered everyone to step back. _When I was these brats' ages, the only weapon I could carry around was a wooden slingshot, _Charon thought as he gazed at the C4.

Rosa and Auro stepped away from the door as well and the brunette operative spoke, "Bombs away," and pressed the button on the detonator. All of a sudden, an explosion occurred in front of them and the door was blasted open.

The teens were surprised they were still in one piece after witnessing a strong blast. "What do you know, we're all still here," Ash chuckled and placed his hands behind his head.

"What did I tell you," Nate grinned at them.

"Let's get going, the blast has most likely alerted everyone on board," Auro told them and they nodded. The gang quickly dashed outside the room and began running through the metal hallways of the ship.

"Did you hear that?" Phantom questioned Zero as he stirred the wheel.

"I did, it sounded like an explosion," Zero answered and pressed a green button on the panel of the wall.

All of a sudden, a dozen Team Rocket and Neo Plasma Grunts appeared in the room, before the Majestic 12 member. "Commander Zero, how may we assist you?" a Team Rocket operative asked.

"I believe our prisoners have escaped, find them, recapture them, and bring them to me. I'm a fool for leaving them with Charon," Zero spoke with a vehement attitude.

"Yes sir!" the operatives answered simultaneously and dashed out of the room.

Meanwhile, in the halls of the ship, the gang lurked corner to corner and successfully avoided the sights of any henchmen. "The fact that no one knows we've escaped is a pretty good benefit," Nate commented as they hid behind the corner of the wall.

All of a sudden, the speakers in the halls activated and Zero's voice could be here, "Attention, we believe our prisoners have escaped and are freely roaming the ship, if you stop them, capture them, and bring them to me as soon as possible." Zero's demanding voice echoed in the halls and all of the henchmen became alert, as did the gang.

Rosa elbowed Nate and snapped at him in a whisper, "Way to go Nate, you just jinxed it."

Nate coughed when Rosa elbowed his gut and he laughed off the pain, "I didn't mean to."

"What are we going to do now?" Ash asked the three teens.

"Zero is aware that we've escaped, his men are looking for us now," May pointed out the obvious.

"Don't worry, I think I've got a plan," Auro grinned at them.

"What's that Auro?" N inquired.

"You'll see," Auro answered and closed his eyes.

"Is he going to use Aura?" Nate asked Rosa, who nodded.

Auro began to explore the room and detected five different auras; he quickly opened his eyes and turned to them, "There are five grunts on this floor, so here's the plan. Ash, May, you'll go distract one grunt and knock him out. Iris, Cilan, the same goes with you, Bianca, Trip, the same, Hilbert, Hilda, the same as well, and N and Looker, do the same too."

They all nodded, "Then we gather their bodies, store them somewhere and me, Nate, and Rosa will put on their clothes. When we do, you'll become our prisoners and we'll go to Zero since that's exactly what he wants us to do. There, we will make him believe you have been captured and when he least expects it, we'll take him down, Phantom must also be with him so we'll take the sword from that wannabe pirate in the process. Then we either escape the ship or take control of it, we'll decide when we have Phantom and Zero on their knees, got it?"

"Good, and one more thing, Nate, give them five Drowzee Darts, one for each team," Auro ordered and Nate nodded.

The brunette reached into his pocket and revealed five red darts. "You'll use these to knock out the grunts, just one throw of the dart, the needle will trespass their uniforms and inject a sedative liquid into their bodies, knocking them instantly," Nate informed them.

The teams each took one dart, with Ash holding his and May's dart, N holding his, Hilbert his own, Trip getting another, and Cilan receiving the last one.

"Ready, set, go," Rosa whispered to the group.

"Right!" they all responded and split up into the groups Auro assigned.

* * *

Trip and Bianca ran through the hall and found a grunt walking in front of them. "Get behind the corner," Trip ordered and they got behind it quickly.

"So who makes the shot?" Trip looked at the walking grunt from behind the corner and then turned to Bianca.

"I have terrible aiming, so I think you should do it, you allows good at the bow and arrow games when we were kids," Bianca gave him a sheepish grin.

Trip smiled at her and replied, "If you say so." The blond-haired teen then looked back at the grunt and threw the dart with force. The fast-moving dart shot at the grunt's back and went through the grunt's clothing, making him let out a groan when the needle injected the liquid automatically, making him drop.

Bianca and Trip then smiled at each other for their successful mission. On another part of the floor, Iris and Cilan were spying on a grunt who looked in the direction of the corner they hiding behind.

* * *

"What do we do, Cilan, we can't get spotted by that grunt," Iris looked at him with a worried face.

"Not to worry, I know who can help," Cilan reached for a Pokéball and called out, "Pansage, come out and help us."

Pansage leaped in front of Cilan, Iris, and Axew, greeting the trio. "Pansage pan," Pansage grinned.

"Pansage, I need you to use Flash on the grunt right past this corner, blind him so Iris may throw a dart and knock him out," Cilan ordered his Grass-type Pokémon.

"Pansage," Pansage nodded happily.

"That's a great idea Cilan, why didn't I think of that," Iris praised his idea.

"Just a quick idea that hit me, I guess," Cilan smiled.

Pansage tiptoed over to the corner of the wall and then jumped out to face the grunt. "Pan pansage," the monkey said and formed a bright ball of energy.

"What the," the Rocket grunt was blinded by the light and couldn't see.

"Now," Cilan whispered to Iris.

The wild girl nodded and jumped out of the corner and threw the dart like ninja style. The dart hit the grunt's chest and the liquid was injected into the man's body, knocking him out.

"Way to go," Cilan congratulated Iris and Pansage for their success.

"Axew ax," Axew praised its trainer.

* * *

"So, how are we going to hit the guard, he's walking this way," N stood behind his corner and whispered over to Looker, who hid behind the corner parallel to his.

"Watch," Looker smirked and pulled out a unique firearm with an empty chamber for cartridges. The firearm was high-tech in appearance and N raised his eyebrow in surprise when he saw it.

Looker placed the dart in the empty chamber and saw a reflection of the grunt approaching, walking over to their corners. Looker looked at N and showed him 3 fingers. The police officer then whispered, "3…2…1," each time lowering a finger and when he reached zero, he popped out of the corner.

The Plasma grunt's eyes widened with shock as the dart was shot at his leg, trespassing the cloth and injecting the liquid. The grunt closed his eyes and dropped to the floor while Looker and N stared at his body.

* * *

"That grunt is walking toward our corner, how are we going to get knock him out without alerting the whole ship?" Hilda asked Hilbert.

"Watch this," Hilbert winked at her, making her blush.

Hilbert peeked through their corner and saw the grunt walking over, but the boy threw his hat across the hall. "What was that?" the grunt mumbled.

"Hilbert, what did you do?" Hilda wanted to strangle him, but the brunette shushed her by cupping her mouth, annoying the brunette.

"Watch," Hilbert whispered.

The grunt reached their corner, but his head motioned to the direction the hat flew toward and walked over to it. "Where did this hat come from?" the Rocket grunt walked over to the hat and examined it.

Hilbert reached into his pocket and threw the dart, hitting the grunt's back and making the crook drop. "Told you it'd work," Hilbert chuckled and went over to pick up his hat.

"If the grunt had been smarter, he would have turned in the direction the hat was thrown from," Hilda crossed her arms and gave him an annoyed look.

"Well, what's done is done," Hilbert placed his hat and smiled at her, making her smile in exchange.

* * *

In another part of the room, a grunt had aggressively been searching through every corner of the hall. "Ash, he's going to get to our corner eventually," May told the raven-haired teen.

"I know we can't hide here forever, but I think I have a plan," Ash responded.

"What's that?" May gave him a puzzled look.

"You distract him while I sneak up on him, here, Pikachu will here to protect you, right pal?" Ash looked at his friend.

"Pi," Pikachu nodded.

May sighed, wondering what crazy idea her boyfriend had, but she gave him a soft smile, "Alright, let's hope it works."

"Catch you in a few," Ash winked and walked away and turned to another corner, on a different lane where the grunt wasn't inspecting.

"If I find any of those punks, Colress and Ghetsis are surely to give me a promotion," the grunt cackled with joy.

When the grunt walked forward, May popped out of her corner and glared at the grunt. "Stop right there," the sapphire-eyed girl frowned.

"Well, what do we have here, I'll make sure you're my reward when I show you to Zero, I'll have lots of fun with you," the grunt cackled louder.

May was disgusted by the ill mind of the grunt and glared at him, "He's behind you," the brunette spoke with a menacing tone.

"Who?" the grunt raised an eyebrow and turned around.

"Me," Ash glared at the grunt and stabbed the dart into the grunt's neck.

"Whoa, that feels…strong," the grunt said before he dropped to the floor and knocked out.

"You alright, May?" Ash grinned at her.

May smiled back at him and replied, "He was a creep, but I'm fine."

* * *

When the group reunited with Auro, Nate, and Rosa, they locked the grunts up in a storage room and the three teens now wore Rocket and Plasma outfits. "Well done guys," Nate congratulated all of them on their work.

"You could really be helpful on our missions," Rosa winked at them.

"We try," Ash placed his hands behind his head and laughed arrogantly, making May and Pikachu sigh while the others chuckled.

"Well now…it's time for phase 2 of our plan, take back the sword and defeat Phantom and Zero," Auro spoke and then covered his mouth with a black bandana.

They all nodded in agreement and prepared for a second showdown with the Majestic 12 members on the top floor.

**This chapter was going to be longer, lol sadly…but I didn't want to make it as long as the last and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer, so that was Chapter 21, I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter is the conclusion of the Battle for Victini. I'm sure you guys can expect what will happen in Chapter 22. By the way, Nate, Rosa, and Auro are inspired by the game characters of the same names, except for Auro, whose name is originally Hugh, but I wanted a more unique name for him and I like the guesses you guys made regarding their origins. I'll explore their backgrounds in the later chapters, but I hope you are enjoying their appearances so far. Chapter 22 will mostly focus on Ash and May so stick around. Once again, I hope you enjoyed the chapter,especially the Ash and May scenes with Roxas, the next one will be up next week and remember to REVIEW! Seriously though review lol, the last chapter lacked the average number if reviews, but I guess some were busy like I was and didn't have time, but seriously guys, remember to review, I'd appreciate it. Till next time!**


	22. Let the Games Begin Pt 3

Chapter 22: Aggressive Expansion Pt. 3

"Sir, we have some grunts who have successfully recaptured our prisoners, they are outside, ready to hand them over to you like you instructed," a Rocket Grunt informed Zero.

"Good, let them enter," Zero smirked and looked over at Phantom, who controlled the ship while smirking at Zero as well.

The Rocket Grunt nodded and exited the room. Seconds later, three Neo Plasma Grunts entered with Ash, May, Pikachu, Bianca, Trip, Iris, Cilan, Looker, Hilda, Hilbert, and N, they were all handcuffed. The teens all glared at Zero when they saw him and the Majestic 12 member chuckled.

"Glad to have you back under our control," Phantom chuckled at them as he stirred the wheel of the military ship.

"Where are the other 3 punks though, they are highly dangerous so we would worry more about them than these children," Zero looked at the group and then at the grunts.

The male grunt between the other two stepped up and spoke, "Unfortunately sir, they got away, we were unable to detain them."

Zero sighed and gave them a blank look, "Well, I guess these guys will do. After all, we still have our honorary guests," Zero focused his eyes on Ash and May.

May and Ash groaned at the sight of Zero's devious eyes, but then Phantom interrupted, "You should feel lucky, you'll be riding with the big boys, enjoy the ride, admire the waters, we'll be arriving at Liberty Garden in just a couple of minutes."

The teens looked through the glass panoramic view of the ship and saw the blue water in front of them, with a small island in the distance. They had to admit that the sight was wonderful, but the fact that they were stuck with criminals in a very high-tech room wasn't very pleasant.

Zero's gaze turned to the grunts and spoke, "You may leave now."

The female grunt then reached for a small control inside her pocket and tapped a button. Suddenly, the handcuffs on the gang snapped opened and dropped to the ground. "I don't think so," Ash grinned slyly at Zero and Phantom.

Zero and Phantom raised their eyebrows, "What is the meaning of this?" Zero grinded his teeth after asking what was going on.

The Neo Plasma Grunts threw their clothes to the sides and revealed themselves as Auro, Nate, and Rosa. The trio grinned at Zero and Phantom, who were became very alert by their presence.

"Bet you weren't expecting that," May gave them a cunning smirk.

"You're time is up, now hand over the Sword of Victory and give in to the law," Looker frowned at them as he spoke with a tone of high authority

"Phantom, tap the emergency button and call in all operatives," Zero commanded with a stern voice.

Phantom nodded and tapped a button hidden behind the wheel, when he tapped it, the lighting of the room became red and loud emergency sounds ran throughout the ship.

"That won't work in this case, Zero," Nate laughed at the older male.

"We've knocked out all operatives in the ship as soon as we got a few uniforms, they won't be able to hear your cries for help with them unconscious," Auro taunted Zero and chuckled.

"So you might as well surrender, we've won," Rosa smirked at the senior member.

Zero sighed and gave them a blank stare, he raised his arms up and began to speak, "Very well, you have us cornered, and you've won."

"Glad that you see it our way," Iris stuck her tongue at the criminal.

Zero looked back at Phantom, who nodded and then the silver-haired crook smirked, "But first, try to actually capture us!" Zero yelled and quickly threw out a Pokéball.

"Get ready to battle!" Hilbert shouted as a bright flash of light blinded them.

"Phantom, get to the escape pod now!" Zero instructed.

Phantom nodded and rushed to a pod that was attached against the wall of the room. "Don't let him get away!" Cilan yelled as Zero's Pokéball still emitted a bright light.

N rushed over to the pod before Phantom could escape, but something slashed the leader of Team Plasma against a wall. The green-haired teen groaned and got up, luckily only his clothes had gotten slashed by the large claws.

"What was that?" Trip questioned and turned to the attacker, the flash of light had now faded.

Beside Zero stood a fearsome creature with a black color covering its back and most of the front, black skin covered its torso, tail tip, and thighs, and also had red talons and claws. It had large black and red scythe like tusks coming out of its upper jaw on the side of its mouth. It roared fiercely at the sight of the enemy and glared with intense red eyes.

"So long suckers," Phantom laughed at the group and entered the black pod. A large hole opened underneath the pod and the pod went right through, taking Phantom with it and shooting the outlaw out of the ship from the bottom of the ship.

"Say hello to my Shiny Haxorus, he is quite a frightful monster, isn't he?" Zero chuckled as Haxorus stood with an intimidating posture in front of the group.

"This is not good…" Bianca commented.

Rosa stepped up and confronted Zero, "I'll battle Zero, this should be finished quickly," the brunette stated and reached for a Pokéball.

"Rosa, I don't think you're strong enough to beat Zero," Auro warned her.

"Who says I was going to beat him," Rosa smirked, confusing Auro and everyone else.

"Go, Gardevoir!" Rosa released her Pokémon.

The ghostly green and white Pokémon hovered above the ground and gazed at Haxorus silently.

"Haxorus, use Slash on Gardevoir!" Zero called out.

Haxorus growled and lunged its claws at Gardevoir, but Rosa easily countered, "Gardevoir, use Teleport to dodge."

Before Haxorus could hit its target, Gardevoir disappeared that very instant, confusing the Dragon-type. "Now use Hypnosis!" Rosa extended her arm to the left when she made her command.

All of a sudden, Gardevoir appeared behind Haxorus and released a blue sphere of light in the pattern of a triangle. The energy hit Haxorus immediately and the Dragon-type closed its eyes and dropped to the ground, now asleep.

Zero stared blankly at his Pokémon and returned it. "That was fast," Ash stated, having expected a better fight from someone like Zero.

"She didn't even have to try," May was also shocked by the ease Rosa handled her battle against Zero.

"You put my only Pokémon to sleep, so you win, Rosa, this time I truly surrender to you. Sadly, your prime target is probably already at Liberty Garden, meaning, you've lost," Zero chuckled while the others glared at him.

"What are we going to do now?" Ash questioned Auro.

May looked to the right side of her and saw about a dozen escape pods, the sapphire-eyed girl then snapped her fingers and shouted, "I have an idea!"

The others turned to her and wondered what the brunette had planned.

* * *

**7 minutes later… **

The S.S Illuminatus was nearing the harbor of Liberty Garden and at the harbor waited Omega, Giovanni, Ghetsis, Colress, and their respective criminal organizations. Among the Majestic 12 members was Phantom, who held the Sword of Victory with a high and mighty attitude.

"Phantom, do you believe Zero captured those troublesome kids and Looker?" Archer asked him.

"There's no reason why he shouldn't have, I would like to have some captives. I was informed that when you arrived in Liberty Garden the locals had left?" Phantom asked.

Genesis approached Phantom and spoke as the ship neared, "The Rocket operatives had difficulty fighting against the International Police Force and they bought enough time to evacuate the island. At least Looker was smart enough to prepare for the attack on Liberty Garden."

"Yes, but he merely did saved pathetic people, the real prize is still lurking on this very island, Victini…I can sense its presence," Omega spoke and let the wind blow his shoulder-length hair.

The ship finally reached the harbor and stopped. Omega and the others watched silently as the entrance to the ship slowly opened. The criminals stood there, watching the entrance, waiting for someone to come out.

"Well, where are our beloved friends?" Colress inquired.

"Do you believe Zero lost control of the ship?" Giovanni asked.

Omega raised his hand at them as a way of telling them to keep quiet and watch. A few seconds later, Zero came out of the ship; the man in the black coat walked away from the ship and smirked.

"Zero, where are Ash and his friends?" Hunter J questioned him.

"They escaped, like according to plan," Zero smirked and approached Omega.

"Good, Rosa, Nate, and Auro are too smart to be stopped by a couple of grunts and two Majestic 12 members, after all, they have learned from the best. Are they heading through the route I predicted?" Omega inquired, surprising everyone that letting the teens escape was part of the plan.

"Yes, they are going to reach the lighthouse through the caverns," Zero informed the leader of the Majestic 12.

Ghetsis raised an eyebrow and spoke to Omega, "So let me get this straight, letting the brats escape was part of your plan?"

"That is right," Omega responded.

"Couldn't have Zero and Phantom easily defeated all of them," Ghetsis frowned in frustration.

"My friend, Zero and Phantom may be among the best battlers, but they are certainly no match for the combined forces of Rosa, Nate, and Auro, and even worse if they are with other skillful trainers like Ash, May, Hilda, and Hilbert. Trust me, this is the best way this mission could have been planned," Omega calmly explained to Ghetsis, who sighed and nodded in acknowledgement.

Omega turned to the crowd of Rockets and Neo Plasmas and spoke, "Attention, our common enemy is wandering the island as we speak. We need to divide and find them all, bring them back alive, especially Ash, May, and Roxas."

"Sir!" the grunts acknowledged and quickly spread throughout the island in search of the teens.

With his back facing his underlings, Omega spoke to them, "J, Cloud, and Silver, head to the lighthouse with Phantom scout the building for the children and stop them. We cannot let them reach Phantom or the sword."

"Of course, my lord," Hunter J acknowledged along with Cloud and Silver.

"The rest of you will come with me, Ghetsis, Giovanni, and Colress," Omega told the other members of the Majestic 12. His deep and intimidating voice reached his followers ears and they agreed.

* * *

"Nate, Rosa, and Auro should be taking the others the caverns like we planned. The road to the lighthouse is probably contaminated by scum at this point," Roxas said as he jumped off Kingdra and landed on the island where Victini resided.

"Return Kingdra, thank you for bringing me to the island," Roxas thanked his Water-type and returned it.

Roxas looked around and saw himself near the town located on Liberty Garden. He walked out of the woodland area of the island and examined the town carefully, "This town is empty. Looker played his part well."

The raven-haired teen walked through the ghost town with caution, houses and stores had broken windows, and some were about collapse because of the damage inflicted upon the structures. Roxas's sapphire eyes motioned in all directions as he walked, "They put up a fight from the looks of it though."

"And we'll put a fight with you punk," a voice answered Roxas and a Pokéball was held behind Roxas's head.

"I should have seen you guys coming," Roxas replied with a calm voice.

"Turn around slowly, any sign of aggression will be met with force, we have your Pokéballs directed right at you," the voice told Roxas.

"Very well," the black-haired teen sighed and turned around very slowly.

The sapphire-eyed teen now faced five Neo Plasma Grunts in front of him, they all glared at him and they were all aiming their Pokéballs at him. The one who had been instructing held the Pokéball just a few centimeters away from his face and like the others; he was obviously ready to fight if necessary.

"We've got you now, troublesome twerp," the grunt smirked at him.

"Do you?" Roxas grinned slyly and instantly grabbed the grunt's arm, twisting it and then making it snap when he slammed it against his shoulder.

The grunt cried in pain and dropped his Pokéball while the other grunts prepared to battle. They all summoned Liepard, Garbodor, Watchog, and a Sawk to battle Roxas, but the more experienced trainer acted swiftly. He reached for Kingdra's Pokéball and called out his faithful companion, "Kingdra, blast these guys away with Draco Meteor!"

Before the other grunts could react, Kingdra nodded shot out the most powerful dragon attack and within seconds, a shower of energy balls shot down on all of them. The sound of explosions echoed throughout the town and dust covered up most of the area. When it cleared, all the grunts and their Pokémon were knocked out.

Roxas and Kingdra nodded at each other and the raven-haired teen returned his loyal partner. His sapphire eyes focused on the lighthouse ahead and he spoke, "Now let's get going."

With that said, Roxas dashed off at the speed of an Arcanine, rushing towards the lighthouse to meet up with the others.

* * *

"I don't like the fact that Zero gave up without even a fight," Hilbert told the others as they walked through the dark caverns, with Looker's flashlight being the only source of guidance.

"You think he had this planned?" Hilda asked.

"Probably, an organization like the one Zero is in is always well prepared," Nate told them.

"But we also come prepared and we've got a counter measure against them if they sneak up on us," Rosa informed the two teens.

"What counter measure?" Iris inquired.

"Ax axew ax?" Axew was also curious to hear what they had to say.

"It's ahead of you," Auro told them, confusing the teens.

Iris, Hilda, and Hilbert looked ahead at the only people who were in front of the rest, Looker, Ash, and May.

"Looker, I was wondering if you know who these guys are," Ash talked to the police officer.

"I was wondering the same too, throughout this whole time, they seem to trust you," May mentioned.

"They're just recent allies of the International Police Force; they helped us coordinate this whole operation against Team Neo Plasma, Team Rocket, and the Majestic 12. The best way to label them is a hybrid of a spy and ninja," Looker explained to them.

"Apart from dressing like those guys, how do they know each other?" the auburn-eyed teen asked.

"That's difficult to explain, I guess they're just rival organizations with different beliefs, except, their rivalry seems to be on a different level, a dangerous level," Looker went into further depth about the ties between the two mysterious groups allying with the good guys and bad guys.

May placed her finger on her chin as they walked, "One thing that is making me wonder even more though is, why do Nate and Rosa look so much like Hilbert and Hilda and now that I think about it, Auro also looks familiar."

"May, didn't we already cover the topic of lookalikes earlier," Ash grinned embarrassingly, feeling like his words just went through the girl's head.

"Actually Ash, May has a reason to be suspicious. These guys have a resemblance to some of you, and it seems more than just coincidence. There might be more to it than we think, but for now, it seems like the relation is under question," Looker also stated that he was suspicious about the relation between these enigmatic heroes and them.

Looker's words left Ash, May, and even Pikachu, who had been listening, with even more questions. After walking through the quiet and empty cave, the group finally stopped in front of a rocky wall.

"Why did we stop?" N asked.

"Take a look," Looker pointed at a machine attached to the wall with a screen, the screen was glowing bright green.

"What is that device for?" Trip raised an eyebrow.

"What does it do?" Bianca asked.

"I think I know what it is for, may I Looker?" Cilan inquired and walked over to the detective.

"You may," Looker responded and Cilan nodded.

The green-haired teen placed his hand on the screen of the device attached to the wall. All of a sudden, a green line appeared on the screen and dashed horizontally and vertically, scanning Cilan's hand. Then the rocky wall beside the device slid upward and revealed a secret entrance with stone stairs.

"Just as I thought," Cilan smiled and removed his hand from the screen.

"How did you know it was a hand scanner, Cilan?" Hilbert asked.

"This machine is used in gyms to secure Pokémon and anything else in a room that criminals might try to steal. They are supposed to be exclusive for only gyms and they always require a certain handprint, so my question is why did this one reveal to us the entrance without asking for a specific person?" Cilan looked at Looker.

"Very smart Cilan; this is a device only seen in gyms, but because the lighthouse is home to a Legendary Pokémon, the people running the island decided to add a security system to ensure the safety of Victini. The reason the machine functioned without requiring a specific handprint is because the Majestic 12 now has the security system under their control. They must have disabled it completely in order to gain access to every part of the lighthouse," Looker clarified everything for Cilan and the others.

"So where is the security system located?" N inquired.

"It's in the town, but the whole island is infested with criminals. That's why we escaped in the pods, to make sure we didn't reach the harbor and get captured again. The cavern is the best way to reach the lighthouse if you're trying to infiltrate discreetly," Looker responded to N's question.

"So these stairs lead to the lighthouse?" May looked at the entrance.

"All the way to the top," Looker told her.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Ash smiled and prepared to run, but they were suddenly stopped when three figures came out of a dark portal, the three of them wore the common black coat they had seen before and their faces were very familiar.

"And where do you think you're going?" Hunter J smirked at Ash while she stood in his way with Silver and Cloud.

"Hunter J!" Ash yelled and grinded his teeth in frustration when he saw the woman in front of him.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu glared when he saw the evil female.

"Darn, not you guys," Nate groaned at the sight of their enemy.

"We'll pop up wherever you guys go, have it memorized, Nate? Honestly, when will you learn?" Silver taunted the brunette boy.

"What are you going to do to us?" Iris gave them a fearful look and Axew mimicked her expression out of fear as well.

Cloud approached Iris and the others and spoke, "We don't want any trouble and we can avoid that if you just surrender. Stay out of our plans or you'll have to deal with the superior."

Ash grinded his teeth and spat at Cloud, "Well tough luck Cloud, because that's not what we are going to do!"

Cloud sighed and nodded at J and Silver. "I warned you Ash, we didn't want to hurt, but you give us no other choice," the blond-haired teen reached for a Pokéball, as did Hunter J and Silver.

"We're not letting you hurt anyone, especially our friends," Auro got between Ash and the others with Nate and Rosa.

"You can stall time for them Auro, but their failure and deaths are imminent, get ready for your ruination," Hunter J chuckled and called out her Drapion, who cried viciously when he appeared.

Cloud and Silver called out Latias and Scizor to battle as well, while Auro called out a Ninetales, Rosa released Gardevoir, and Nate summoned his Samurott. "Looker, take everyone out of here. We'll handle these guys," Nate ordered Looker.

Looker nodded and spoke, "We have to go now!"

"But they need our help," Ash told Looker and looked at his three new friends.

"They can take care of themselves Ash, now c'mon," May assured her boyfriend and Ash ran with her and others up the stairs, past J and the others.

Hilbert and Hilda looked back and also felt concern for the teens they left behind. "I'm worried about them," Hilda told Hilbert.

"So am I, but we have to believe that they'll be alright, after seeing how they work, I'm sure they will pull through," Hilbert assured Hilda.

Ash and May looked at each other and held their hands together as they ran up stairs, the passage was very narrow, so May held Ash's hand from behind as Looker led the way.

"I'm getting tired of running, these spiral stairs are really taking out the last of my energy," Iris breathed heavily, mentioning the fact that the stairs were built in the circular, spiral form.

"Come on, Iris, I'll help you, we can't give up," Cilan held her hand and encouraged her to continue.

With that one gesture, Iris felt her energy come back and the girl smiled while bobbing her head. The pair then dashed to catch up with the others. Axew also couldn't help, but secretly laugh at her trainer's actions.

"Do you think we'll be able to reach Victini in time, Trip?" Bianca asked him as they ran.

"I'm relying on these guys to get it done, if they fail, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop those losers from reaching Victini," Trip replied.

'Wow, that's really brave of you," Bianca complimented Trip, who smiled at her and continued running.

"We're about to reach the first floor, just a bit more," Looker said as he ran beside N.

"What should we expect when reach the first floor?" N asked the leader.

"Hopefully nothing, but I fear the worst," Looker responded at the moment they reached the first floor.

They were all relieved when they arrived on the floor and gasped for air, after running for over 5 minutes straight. The room was empty and the floor was made of wood, the walls were of stone and it was empty and dusty.

"Talk about poor maintenance," May said.

"The lighthouse has been closed for years, no one is really allowed to enter, but it's supposed to reopen again in some months as a tourist site," Hilbert informed May.

Ash walked over to one of the few windows that gave a view of the town ahead, "At least the windows are clear enough to see through." The raven-haired teen wiped dust off the window with his hand.

"Pika!" Pikachu pointed in the distance.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash looked over his shoulder and saw the mouse pointing. He gazed at the direction his pal pointed at and focused his gaze on the distance. His eyes widened with shock and the boy felt his heart drop in fear.

"Guys, go to any nearby window, we have trouble coming this way," Ash frowned.

May rushed over next to Ash to see while everyone else ran over to different windows to take a look. They all gasped when they saw what Ash was seeing with May.

"They're coming this way…" May stated with fear.

"And they're bringing a small army with them," Looker glared at the approaching grunts led by Omega, Colress, Ghetsis, Giovanni, and the other Majestic 12 members.

"There must be at least a hundred of them," N watched with alarm.

"I can see Zero, meaning the ship got to the port and I can see the other Majestic 12 members, except for J, Silver, Cloud, and Phantom," Iris pointed out.

"Hunter J, Silver, and Cloud are downstairs battling with Rosa, Nate, and Auro. Where is Phantom though?" Cilan inquired.

"Phantom should be with the rest of the Majestic 12," Looker mentioned, but then looked up and saw the roof of another floor. His eyes widened and the man shouted, "If Phantom is not with them, then that means he's already inside the lighthouse, he must be nearing Victini!"

Everyone's eyes widened and Bianca spoke, "But how are we going to stop Phantom with Omega and the others getting close. We can't do both at once."

"Unless, we split up," Trip said with a stern stare.

"Yes, there's no other choice, but to split into two groups. One will hold off Omega and the others while the other group goes after Phantom. I'll hold off Omega, hopefully, I can buy enough time for you to stop Phantom," Looker said with a solemn voice.

"You can't do it alone, you'll need help. I volunteer to help you fight against my father and his friends," N told the police officer.

"Very well N, but don't think this will get you off the hook and the police can let you get away with your crimes. After this is over, we'll continue to hunt you down and bring your organization down as well," Looker informed N.

N nodded, "I wouldn't expect you to stop."

"I'm also helping," Trip volunteered.

"Make that two," Bianca also volunteered.

"You'll need all the help you can get, so Hilda and I will help out as well," Hilbert participated.

"That's right," Hilda made a fist and gave a confident grin.

Looker smiled at the teens' spirits, _I hope one day all these kids work together and fight against evil with the same spirit they are showing me right now._

"Looker, I'm also coming," Ash told the police officer.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu also said he would participate.

"Me too," May volunteered with him.

Looker grinned at them, "No, I think we have enough volunteers, kids, and as much as I would like you to come and help, you three are staying in here with Iris and Cilan. The five of you will go after Phantom. Do you understand?"

Ash, May, Iris, Pikachu, and Cilan gave disappointing faces, they nodded, but they wished they could go with Looker and help him. Looker grinned at them and talked, "Good, now let's get going!"

They all smiled and shook their heads. "Let's go!" Ash jumped and then dashed up the stairs with Iris, Cilan, May, and Pikachu.

Looker and the other teens walked out of the lighthouse and into the outdoors. They stood on the hill where the lighthouse was located and they gazed at the approaching organization of criminals.

"Do you think we can take them?" Hilda asked.

"No, but we'll be remembered as heroes," Hilbert joked and smiled, making Hilda punch him in the arm.

"Don't worry about our safety, worry about our friends rushing up the lighthouse. We will make it through fine, but they will come across the greater part of the threat, Phantom is a perfect example of the fierce determination of the Majestic 12," Looker explained to them and they all wished for the well-being of the heroes inside the lighthouse, including Trip and N.

* * *

"How many floors is this lighthouse, I think we've already passed a hundred and we're not even halfway." May said as they ran up the spiral stairs.

"The lighthouse has ten floors; we are about to near the fifth one. Hopefully, Phantom isn't far," Cilan told the brunette.

"Looker and the others are counting on us to stop Phantom, we can't let them down, we have to keep going," Ash encouraged his friends.

"I think we're nearing the fifth floor," Iris said when she saw how close they were reaching the bottom part of the fifth floor or the ceiling of the fourth floor.

They all nodded and dashed to it. When they reached the fifth floor, they saw two Rocket Grunts and Phantom, like Looker had predicted. The trio stood in front of the group of five with stern stares and the Rocket Grunts had Pokéballs in their hands.

"Drat, I thought J would buy enough time for us to reach the top, guess not. You children have done well for coming this far, you been very strategic and ready throughout this whole fiasco, but now your time is up," Phantom chuckled.

Ash stepped up and spoke, "No Phantom, your time is up, hand over the sword and give up!"

"If you don't we'll take it from you by force," May glared at the man who once threatened the well-being of a Pokémon who was like her child.

"We're ready for whatever you've got!" Iris yelled at the ex-pirate.

"That's right!" Cilan shouted at Phantom as well.

"Blah, blah, blah, there are two types of people in this world, one of them refuses and the other accepts. I'm the type who refuses your demands, Rockets attack!" Phantom pointed at the teens.

"Watchog, use Hyper Beam!" both Rockets threw their Pokéballs and called out the same Pokémon and made the same commands.

"Pansage, come out and charge up a Solarbeam!" Cilan instructed while he released his green monkey.

"Pikachu, counter Hyper Beam with Thunder!" Ash demanded.

The pair of Watchog and Pansage emerged and they all immediately unleashed their attacks. Both Watchog released the highly powerful beam attack while Pansage charged up Solarbeam.

Pikachu braced himself and charged up electricity, sparks coursed through the mouse's body violently and the yellow Pokémon shot out Thunder while screaming angrily, "Pikaaaaaaaachuuuu!"

Simultaneously, Pansage released Solarbeam and cried out furiously, "Paaaaansaaaage!"

The super attacks collided with each other and a large explosion was produced in the room, filling it with dust and smoke. Ash, May, Pikachu, Pansage, Cilan, Axew and Iris covered their eyes from the blast.

"I think we used too much power, Cilan," Ash said as the air from the blast was pushed against them.

"We had no other choice," Cilan said, still covering his eyes.

When the dust and smoke cleared, the Rocket Grunts and their Pokémon still stood there with cool expressions on their faces. "Is that all of you've got?" the female grunt asked.

"We were expecting a challenge," the male grunt chuckled.

Ash ignored them and shouted, "Where's Phantom!"

"He took off in the chaos, you won't catch up with him now," the female Rocket smirked.

"That's what you think," May glared at her.

"How are we going to get past these guys now?" Iris frowned in anxiety.

"There's only one way…" Cilan said.

"How?" Ash looked at him.

Cilan closed his eyes for a second and then opened them, "Ash, you guys go ahead and stop Phantom. Iris and I will hold off these crooks," Cilan told the boy.

Ash, Pikachu, and May looked surprised when Cilan said that. "Pikapi!" Pikachu told Cilan, trying to argue with the Gym Leader.

"Pikachu's right Cilan, we can't just leave you," Ash frowned at the green-haired male.

"We won't leave," May crossed her arms.

Iris sighed and spoke, 'Please guys, you have to go stop Phantom. He could be harming Victini as we speak, we'll be okay down here, just go, and we'll meet up again in one piece, right Cilan?"

"That's right," Cilan smiled at them.

Ash and May sighed and looked at the stairs leading to the top of the lighthouse. Pikachu looked at Axew and Pansage, but the Dragon-type and Grass-type smiled and Axew spoke, "Axew ax ax."

"Pi…" Pikachu sighed and had no choice, but to accept going after Phantom and leaving their friends behind.

"Now go, quick!" Cilan ordered.

"Right!" Ash and May nodded and dashed off after Phantom.

The Rockets let them pass and they just laughed at Iris and Cilan. "Smart play for some airhead punks, but Phantom will still easily take your friends down," the male Rocket said.

"Enough talk, let's battle," Iris frowned and Axew got on the battlefield while Pansage braced itself.

The pair of Watchog also prepared itself for the second round of the battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of the lighthouse, Omega and his allies were finally nearing the lighthouse. "This is it," Looker gave the approaching criminals a stern look.

Omega and the others spotted them and smirked with anticipation. "Time to battle," Hilbert reached for a Pokéball and prepared himself along with the other teens.

"No one is starting any battle without me," a voice said, alerting the group of six. Out of the trees in the hill dashed out a young man in a black coat.

"Roxas," Looker recognized the newcomer.

The others were also surprised to see the Ash-lookalike in front of them. Roxas smiled at them and spoke, "We're battling together, got that?"

Looker sighed and grinned, "Alright."

"Where are the others though, where are Auro, Nate, and Rosa?" Roxas inquired.

Before any of them could answer, someone else did, "They're probably being tortured by Hunter J at this point. No need to worry about them."

Roxas and the others turned to the source of the voice and saw Omega in front of them with Ghetsis, Giovanni, Colress, and their underlings. They were only a few meters away from them and they were all smirking at the party of seven.

Roxas's cool demeanor became a serious one and he glared at Omega. "Omega, you don't know how saddening it is for you to have gone through all this trouble to attain Victini, only to fail because of a handful of people."

"Silence boy, victory is in our hands!" Ghetsis spat.

"The only victory in someone's hands is in that of Ash and May's, they are putting a stop to your evil plan at this very moment," N commented.

"What N said is true, if there's anyone that will stop you from getting Victini, it's those guys!" Hilbert spat at the criminals.

"The jig is up," Hilda grinned slyly at Omega and the others.

"Give up," Trip spoke seriously.

"Because you've lost," Bianca frowned at them.

Roxas smirked at Omega and began to speak, "The jury has spoken."

"We'll just see about that," Giovanni chuckled and smiled.

"You fools will regret your intervention," Colress reached for a Pokéball.

"Time to illuminate you on what the meaning of triumph is," Omega reached for a Pokéball as well.

"The ends will justify the means," Omega and the rest of the Majestic 12 members said simultaneously, with the exclusion of J, Silver, Roxas, and Phantom.

Roxas glared at them and threw 6 Pokéballs into the air. From them emerged Lucario, Zoroark, Kingdra, Metagross, Charizard, and his most powerful Pokémon, Dialga. Looker and the others also called out their most powerful Pokémon, N summoned Archeops, Hilbert called out Samurott, Hilda released her Servine, Trip summoned his Servine, and Bianca called out her Emboar, Looker released an Aggron.

Omega and the others all called out one Pokémon each. The leader of the Majestic 12 called out his Tyranitar to battle against the opposition.

"Everyone, do not let any member of the enemy get passed this line, Dialga, take out anyone if necessary," Roxas ordered and told his Pokémon to defend the lighthouse.

"Here…we…go," Omega spoke slowly and when he finished, Tyranitar unleashed a Dark Pulse at Roxas, but was instantly countered by Lucario's Aura Sphere.

"Kill them," Omega commanded and at that instant, the followers and leaders of the criminal alliance battled against the Roxas and his allies. Within minutes, blasts, explosions, and shock waves were occurring all over the area of the lighthouse, some of Dialga's attacks were so powerful that ten Pokémon were knocked down at once and caused the earth beneath them to shake.

* * *

As Ash, May, and Pikachu were finally nearing the final floor, May almost lost her balance because the ground was shaking. "Ash, I'm going to fall!" May felt herself about to fall off the stairs and since there was no rail, she'd plummet to the bottom of the lighthouse.

"No way, May! You're not going anywhere!" Ash pulled her back before she could slip from the stairs and fall.

May held onto to Ash tightly and looked down below, the drop was extremely frightening from where they were now and May hid her face in Ash's chest for a second. The brunette looked at him and asked, "Why does it feel like the whole world is suddenly shaking?"

"I don't know, but it must be coming from outside, something big must be happening," Ash looked serious, the auburn-eyed teen wished he could find out what was going on outside.

"Well, let's keep going, we're almost there," May smiled sheepishly and Ash agreed while grinning back at her.

Pikachu was the only who could feel the seriousness going on outside, the mouse could hear the sounds of roaring, explosions, and yelling going on, and the mouse became worried more and more with every shake.

"Ash, when you think about everything that has been happening right now, you start to realize that there are really bad people out there in the world," May told the raven-haired boy.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked after the tower shook again.

"I mean, a whole city got destroyed, people died, and an entire island has become a battlefield just to capture a Legendary Pokémon. Are people really that evil? What sort of pleasure can come out of it?" the brunette asked her boyfriend.

Ash gave her a serious look and replied, "May, there are always going to be bad people in the world and some are going to be really cruel when it comes getting what they want, but you know what, where there is evil, there's a good. Wherever there's evil, there will always be good there to stop, like Looker for example, he's always where really bad people are up to no good, and he does everything he can to stop them. We're doing the same thing May, so even though things may look bad, evil will never dominate, good will always be there to stop."

The brunette got inspired by Ash's words, she had never seen him talk on such a wise level before and she was surprised to see this part of him. She reached for his hand and squeezed it; the girl smiled softly and responded, "Ash that was really wise…what you just said. You're right though, there may always be evil out there, but we can never let it win, there will always be good people out there to stop it, like us!" May formed a confident grin and made a fist with her free hand.

"Yep, that's right May, don't ever give up hope on anything, if things ever become bleak in any way, don't ever give in to the bad stuff happening," Ash encouraged her further and the two grinned at each other.

"Pikachu pi pika!" Pikachu smiled and cheered at them.

"You said it pal, never give up, never lose faith," Ash grinned at his partner as they continued running.

"Well then, let's hurry up; there are bad guys to be stopped!" May smiled and charged full speed.

The trio ran up the stairs as the tower continued to shake, but they finally made it to the top floor and saw Phantom there with the sword in his right hand, his back was facing them and he stood in front of rectangular stone that reached to his knees. Instead of stone walls like the other nine floors, the tenth floor was made up of glass and you could see the island, the ocean, and Castelia City.

"Phantom, stop right there, we have you now!" Ash yelled at the Majestic 12 member.

"Surrender to us now!" May shouted at him.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu emitted sparks from its cheeks.

"Surrender you say, surrender you say? My dear friends, there are two types of people in this world, those who surrender, and those who come out victorious. I am the type who comes out victorious!" Phantom yelled and stabbed the Sword of Victory into the middle part of the stone.

"No!" Ash and May screamed while Phantom laughed maniacally.

The stone began to glow red and a stream of fire shot out of the handle of the sword. The stream of fire began to travel across the lighthouse and then returned to the tenth floor and circled around it at an incredible speed. Ash, May, and Pikachu were all alarmed by the fire while Phantom smiled evilly. The stream of fire continued to circle the room until it shot at the handle of the sword, then at that sudden moment, a large flame covered up the entire sword and stone and the fire reached the roof.

The shadow of a small, rodent-like Pokémon and it had large, pointed ears shaped like the letter V. As the stream of fire enveloped the interior part of the lighthouse and the flames died out, the Pokémon revealed itself.

Ash, May, Pikachu, and Phantom were all fascinated by the sight of the Legendary Pokémon. It had two wings-like tails and a round head, which was comparatively large for its small body. Most of its body was cream-colored, while the tops of its ears, crest, and extremities were all orange. It hovered over the sword and it slowly opened its eyes, the little Pokémon had large blue eyes and when it fully opened them, it gave Ash, May, Phantom, and Pikachu a confused look.

"Vi?" Victini looked around the room curiously, wondering what was going on.

"It's so cute!" May clasped her hands together and admired the tiny Pokémon.

"Whoa, so that's Victini…" Ash also looked at the Pokémon with interest.

"Pikaaa…" Pikachu also gazed at it.

Phantom chuckled and grinned sinisterly at Victini, "Welcome back Victini, I hope you enjoyed your century old slumber."

"Victini?" Victini hovered over to Phantom and looked at him curiously.

"Victini, stay away from him!" Ash yelled.

"V?" Victini looked over at Ash and then turned to Phantom.

Phantom reached for a Pokéball and made a command, "Archeops, take down Victini with Shadow Claw!"

At that sudden moment, Archeops emerged out of its Pokéball and charged at Victini with astonishing speed. The small Victory Pokémon was quickly taken off guard and Archeops's glowing dark claws slash Victini against the wooden floor, making it cry in pain.

"Victini!" May cried.

Victini groaned and slowly got up, the Fire-type Pokémon then braced its body together and its whole body began to glow pale red. Its body then became surrounded in a teardrop-shape red flame. It also surrounded its body in a round yellow fire and it suddenly fired the flame from its body at the opponent, and it shot at Archeops like a spinning meteor. The Victory Pokémon cried, "Viiii," angrily as it unleashed its attack.

"That's a whole lot of power," Ash commented, amazed by Victini's power.

"Such a tiny thing is able to have that much power?" May questioned herself.

Phantom chuckled and spoke, "Fire attacks like Searing Shot won't work against Archeops, little guy. This is an effective move against Fire-types like you, Archeops, use Stone Edge!"

Archeops cried out violently and unleashed white shards of energy to counter Searing Shot. Stone Edge easily countered Searing Shot and bashed Victini ruthlessly, sending the small Pokémon flying against the glass wall, making it crack in the process.

"Lunge at it with Crunch!" Phantom shouted and then laughed.

Archeops jetted at Victini, who still hadn't gotten up, rapidly and bit the Psychic-type Pokémon. Archeops shook Victini brutally in its jaws and then slammed it against the floor, making Victini squeal in pain once again.

"What's the matter Victini, I heard Psychic-types enjoy a good Crunch," Phantom chuckled.

Ash and May grinded their teeth in frustration as they saw the just awakened Victini get beaten and battered aggressively by Archeops. "That's enough!" Ash shouted angrily and halted the battle.

Phantom and Archeops turned to Ash, while Victini lay on the floor panting weakly. "You'll pay for that Phantom, you'll pay for hurting Victini!" Ash yelled hostilely.

"Save it for later kid," Phantom ignored Ash and turned back to Victini, but just when he was about to make another command, a powerful Double Thunderbolt shot at Phantom and Archeops, making them both scream in pain.

Phantom and Archeops dropped to the ground while Victini shifted his eyes to Ash and Pikachu, who glared at Phantom. "May, get Victini and leave, I'm going to handle Phantom," Ash spoke sternly.

May nodded and glared at Phantom. The brunette then ran over to Victini to rescue the little Legendary Pokémon, but before she could reach him, 3 Archeops appeared in front of her without warning. May grinded her teeth in aggravation and asked, "What's going on?"

Ash also became surprised and turned to Phantom, who got up and smirked, "If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get. Archeops's Double Team should keep your girlfriend busy, while you fight the real one," Phantom laughed and Archeops appeared by Phantom's side.

May and Ash quickly recognized how dire the situation became and prepared to battle the powerful Majestic 12 member. May looked at the 3 Archeops blocking her way to Victini furiously while Ash clenched his fists and glared at Phantom with Pikachu.

"Bring it," Ash and May said simultaneously and prepared to battle.

May called out Liepard to assist in the battle with the 3 Archeops while Ash used Pikachu. Phantom chuckled and spoke, "Archeops, use AncientPower."

Phantom's main Archeops shot out the sphere at Pikachu while the 3 copies released a triple one at Liepard. Ash grinned confidently and made a command, "Pikachu, destroy AncientPower with Iron Tail!"

"Liepard, use Iron Tail to counter!" May extended her arm forward.

Pikachu and Liepard leaped in the air with their iron-colored tails and smashed the rocks with sheer force, but Phantom remained calm, "Archeops, use Agility and then Rock Smash."

Before Ash and May could react, Archeops charged at sudden speed and directed Rock Smash at Liepard and Pikachu. The main Archeops took Pikachu off guard and bashed Pikachu, sending the mouse flying towards the floor while the other Archeops did the same, except the quick cat acted with her reflexes and dodged 2 out of the 3 Rock Smash. Unfortunately, the Rock Smash that hit the Dark-type sent her flying against the floor as well.

While Pikachu and Liepard got up, Phantom was already making his next command, "Archeops, use Stone Edge."

The Archeops cried and released glowing white shards at their opponents, leaving Ash and May uncertain on what to do. May grinded her teeth and said her command, "Liepard, use Assist!"

"Liepard," Liepard nodded and extended its claw out, releasing a barrage of colorful energy leaves directed at the Stone Edge.

"Petilil's Magical Leaf, that will do," May half-grinned. The Magical Leaf and Triple Stone Edge canceled each other out, saving Liepard from a devastating attack.

Ash clenched his fists as Pikachu braced for the Stone Edge, "Pikachu, dodge with Agility and then somersault to use Electro Ball!"

Pikachu nodded and dashed throughout the battlefield, "Pika," the mouse dodged a shower of stones, "Pika," the mouse dodged again, "Pika," Pikachu narrowly dodged another shower and then the somersaulted into the air, "Pikaaachu!" Pikachu unleashed Electro Ball, directing it at Archeops.

"Archeops dodge Electro Ball with Agility," Phantom and Archeops easily dodged the Electro Ball.

"Liepard, use Dark Pulse on all the Archeops!" May instructed and Liepard unleashed a spiral beam of dark energy powerful enough to hit 3 targets.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Archeops!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"Use Aerial Agility Smash," Phantom crossed his arms and chuckled.

"What's that?!" May and Ash exclaimed with curiosity.

At that sudden moment, the Archeops braced themselves and then dashed across the battlefield at phenomenal speeds, successfully dodging Thunderbolt and Dark Pulse. Then suddenly, they dashed at Pikachu and Liepard with Rock Smash and sent the two Pokémon crashing against the wooden floor.

"Wow, that was fast," May became amazed by the superb speed shown by Archeops.

"But how?" Ash frowned.

"It's my triple combination of Aerial Ace, Agility, and Rock Smash. Agility already boosts the speed of Archeops, but with the speed from Aerial Ace added, Archeops becomes even faster and Rock Smash is the dealing blow part of the combo. Impressive, isn't it?" Phantom tormented Ash and May with his superior skill in battling.

Liepard and Pikachu were both dealt heavy hits by the combo and were groaning as they got up. Both of them were covered in cuts and bruises that noticeable to the naked eye. Phantom cracked his knuckles and laughed, "Now, here's the real kicker, Archeops, Stone Edge!"

The Archeops all cried and unleashed a barrage of glowing shards at their opponents. Ash clenched his fists and spoke, "Pikachu, dodge with Agility!" Sadly though, Stone Edge shot out much faster than before and Pikachu was unable to dodge, the Stone Edge quickly bashed Pikachu back against the floor.

"Liepard, counter Stone Edge with Assist!" May ordered. Liepard grinded her teeth and used Assist, but this time May hadn't been so lucky. The only thing that came out was Flamethrower and Stone Edge easily overpowered it. The shards then slashed Liepard and sent her flying against a glass wall, the impact making it crack.

Liepard and Pikachu struggled to get up from the hard blows while May and Ash felt like they were running out of options fast. While Phantom was busy defeating the couple, Victini watched the battle unfold with fear and confusion.

The little Fire-type wondered why these people were here, what did they want, why did they hurt him, why were they battling, were the raven-haired boy and brunette and their Pokémon trying to protect him? With every blow Liepard and Pikachu took, Victini became more frightened, it wasn't sure if it should help, but even the Legendary Pokémon felt weak after taking such a beating from Archeops.

"Vi…." Victini felt tears stream down its cheeks as Liepard and Pikachu squealed in pain while Ash and May yelled angrily and grew concerned about their Pokémon's condition.

* * *

During Ash and May's battle, other parts of the island saw other conflicts. Outside, down below the lighthouse, Roxas and his friends fought bravely against Omega and the allies. Dialga was constantly attacked by Giga Impact and Hyper Beam, but the Legendary Pokémon easily defeated his enemies, however, even the Dragon-type was becoming exhausted by the endless number of attacking Pokémon.

Colress had Trip and Bianca on their knees with his Beeheeyem. Hilbert and Hilda were running out of Pokémon to battle Giovanni with, N and Looker were barely able to keep up with Ghetsis's battling skills and even Roxas and his Pokémon were beginning to slow down with their battle against the Majestic 12.

Kingdra could hardly keep Vicious and Annie at bay, Dialga was having difficulty against grunts and Zero and Kodai, the men who led the assault on the Legendary Pokémon. Charon and Genesis had Charizard almost dying, Archer and Brodie were about to knock out Metagross completely. Lucario, Zoroark, and Roxas were having trouble against Omega's Tyranitar's unbelievable strength.

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere, Zoroark, use Focus Blast, fast!" Roxas yelled; sweat dripping from the sapphire-eyed teen's hair due to the stress of the battle.

"Tyranitar, show them a real attack, Focus Blast!" Omega extended his arm forward and Tyranitar unleashed the deadly blue sphere that countered Aura Sphere and Focus Blast.

"Now use Dragon Blast," Omega snapped his fingers and Tyranitar used Fire Blast, shooting in out like a large fiery "X". Then the Dark-type proceeded to shooting out Dragon Pulse, the two attacks then fused, with Fire Blast enveloping itself around Dragon Pulse like a cage.

"Lucario, dodge with ExtremeSpeed and Zoroark, dodge with Agility!" Roxas grinded his teeth when he made the command.

Zoroark and Lucario dodged the attack, but Omega remained cool and said something else, "Disperse."

All of a sudden, the fiery combination exploded and flames and energy shot out in every direction, hitting Lucario and Zoroark.

"Now kill two birds with one stone…Focus Blast," Omega spoke and Tyranitar shot out Focus Blast.

"Zoroark, Protect, now! Lucario, take advantage and use Heal Pulse!" Roxas instructed.

Before Focus Blast could hit the duo, Zoroark recovered from the attack and stood in front of Lucario. The Illusion Fox Pokémon then formed a large barrier around them and protected them from Focus Blast, saving them from the deadly attack in the process.

While Zoroark protected them, Lucario got up and used Heal Pulse on themselves to recover the lost energy. The aura of Heal Pulse covered both their bodies and several cuts and bruises healed, but Lucario didn't have enough energy to make them recover completely.

When Focus Blast faded, Lucario and Zoroark prepared to battle Tyranitar once again with nearly almost all of their power restored. "Ready for round two?" Roxas smirked at Omega.

"Ready," Omega smirked and chuckled.

* * *

"Ninetales, Flamethrower!" Auro commanded.

"Latias, cancel it with Dragon Pulse," Roxas coolly instructed.

The two attacks collided and caused a small explosion between the two. "Samurott, use Hydro Pump on Drapion!" Nate demanded.

"Drapion, counter with Hyper Beam," Hunter J ordered.

The two super attacks clashed with each other, but Hyper Beam overpowered Hydro Pump and sent Samurott crashing against the cave wall.

"Gardevoir, use Charge Beam on Scizor!" Rosa extended her arm to the right.

"Scizor, use Double Team and then X-Scissor," Silver smirked after saying his command.

Gardevoir unleashed the electrical beam, but Scizor easily dodged it by multiplying. The Scizor copies then released X-shaped attacks at Gardevoir and sent the Psychic-type crashing against the floor from the powerful attack combination.

"Give up, there's no way you can win, your Pokémon can't go on any longer while ours have barely tried in this battle," Hunter J taunted them.

"No way!" Auro, Rosa, and Nate screamed at the same time.

"Samurott, use Ice Beam on Latias!" Nate instructed.

"Gardevoir, use Hypnosis on Scizor!" Rosa commanded.

"Ninetales, use Dig!" Auro ordered.

"Scizor, protect Latias with Iron Head!" Silver demanded. Scizor became one being again and got between Latias and Ice Beam, the Steel-type's head turned into an iron color and it bashed through the Ice-type attack, canceling it out and protecting Latias.

"Drapion, defend Scizor," J ordered. When Gardevoir tried to use Hypnosis on Scizor though, Drapion shielded the Bug-type and the move had no effect.

"Ninetales, emerge now and take down Drapion!" Auro commanded with fury.

"Latias, counter Ninetales's assault with Psychic," Cloud demanded. When the fire fox Pokémon emerged from the ground, it prepared to hit Drapion, but Latias's psychic powers got control over Ninetales and bashed the Fire-type against a cave wall.

"Let's finish this," Silver smirked and leaned his head on his fist.

"Very well," J chuckled and said her command, "Drapion, exterminate Gardevoir with Shadow Ball."

"Scizor, X-Scissor and Double Team one more time on Samurott this time," Silver demanded.

"Latias, Mist Ball on Ninetales," Roxas crossed his arms when he said his instruction.

The three teens clenched their fists when they heard the commands and acted quickly, "Gardevoir, use Teleport to dodge Shadow Ball!" Rosa shouted.

"Samurott, counter the X-Scissor with Ice Beam!" Nate yelled.

"Ninetales, stop Mist Ball with Energy Ball!" Auro screamed.

When the six Pokémon's attacks and counters clashed, Auro, Nate, and Rosa became alarmed. The moment Gardevoir teleported away from danger, J redirected the Shadow Ball at Samurott, who was blasted unconscious against a cave wall. Scizor's X-Scissors were redirected at Gardevoir when she reappeared, the Psychic-type knocked out when it was repeatedly bashed against a wall by the X-Scissor and Latias easily overpowered Energy Ball and sent a devastating blow to Ninetales, knocking it out.

The 3 teens were in disbelief and returned their Pokémon without a word. They had finally lost after a long, hard fought battle against the powerful members.

"That's how it's done," Silver chuckled when he saw the three knocked out Pokémon.

"You fought well, but not well enough," Roxas gave them a half-smile.

"Now how are you going to stop us?" Hunter J approached Auro and laughed in his face, infuriating the leader of the 3 teens.

* * *

"Pansage, protect Axew with Solarbeam!" Cilan ordered.

"Watchog, Hyper Beam one final time!" the Rocket grunts commanded.

"Watchog!" the Watchog shouted and unleashed a Double Hyper Beam that formed a spiral beam.

Pansage frowned and countered with Solarbeam, releasing the powerful Grass-type beam. "Cilan, you can't handle both on your own!" Iris shouted.

"We're not strong enough to defeat them anyone, we might as well lose trying," Cilan gave her an apologetic look for their failure.

Iris looked down at the ground and gave him the same expression too. When the two beams made contact, Hyper Beam easily won and blasted away Pansage and Axew, sending the two flying back to the feet of their trainers.

"Oops, guess we over did it," the female grunt chuckled with the male grunt.

Cilan returned Pansage while Iris picked up Axew and they both glared at the Rockets. "Your friends at the top floor, in the caverns, and outside the lighthouse are all sharing the same fate as we talk right now, victory goes to Team Rocket and its allies," the two blabbered about their apparent victory while Cilan and Iris remained silent.

* * *

"Lucario, Drain Punch!" Roxas commanded.

Lucario rushed up to Tyranitar and punched the Dark-type, but the move didn't even send it flying, it merely maintained its face in the direction it was punched. Lucario gained some of Tyranitar's energy through the punch, but it was still confused as to why nothing else happened.

_This move should have sent that monster flying, what's going on? _Lucario thought in its mind.

"Fire Blast," Omega crossed his arms when he said his command.

Tyranitar faced Lucario again and smirked, the Rock-type then opened its jaw wide and blasted Lucario away with Fire Blast.

"Now take out Zoroark with Focus Blast," Omega instructed and Tyranitar unleashed the Fighting-type move.

"Zoroark, counter it with Focus Blast!" Roxas demanded.

The two Focus Blasts collided, but in the end, Tyranitar's proved stronger and it sent Zoroark flying.

Lucario and Zoroark groaned as they got up, their legs wobbled from the exhaustion and their bodies ached from the pain of the battle. Roxas grinded his teeth and thought in his mind, _Damn, Zoroark and Lucario don't have enough power to protect or heal themselves anymore, they don't even have enough power to gain the upper hand on Tyranitar, there's only one thing left to do. _

Roxas focused his eyes on Zoroark and Lucario, who were on their knees and struggled to get on their feet. _Zoroark, Lucario, stay down, we've lost, he's too strong, _Roxas spoke to his Pokémon telepathically.

Zoroark and Lucario turned to Roxas and Lucario spoke, _What?! Zoroark and I can keep fighting; we're not even half through. _

_ Enough Lucario, you know that's not true, stand down, not even Dialga can handle anymore, what makes you think you can. The next time we battle him though, we'll make him regret he was born, so for now, step down and let go of your pride, _Roxas responded and closed his eyes.

Lucario and Zoroark grinded their teeth, but in the end they both dropped on the ground unconscious. When Looker and the others saw this, they were alarmed by the fact that Omega had defeated the most powerful trainer on the island that wasn't allied with the bad guys.

"I'm glad you see it my way, Roxas, now convince the rest of your friends and Pokémon to surrender," Omega ordered Roxas, who stood glaring at him, feeling like there was no choice, but to obey.

* * *

"Piiiiiikaaaaa!" Pikachu cried as he hit the ground.

"Paaaaaaard!" Liepard squealed in pain as she hit the floor.

May and Ash watched in disbelief as Pikachu and Liepard were battered against the floor repeatedly, nothing had worked against Phantom, his Archeops were too fast for them, they were nearly beaten.

Phantom couldn't help, but laugh and enjoy the suffering of his opponents, "This is what happens when you mess with us, and the only result is you end up losing, once I finish you I'll get Victini and the Majestic 12 will take over this pathetic region and then the world."

"No, we just can't lose, we can't give up," Ash clenched his fists and his sweat dropped to the floor. Pikachu got up and tried to Volt Tackle Archeops, but the bird nimbly dodged and sent the mouse flying with Shadow Claw.

Liepard tried to use Dark Pulse, but Archeops easily countered with Stone Edge and made the cat squeal.

"We can't give in to them like this, we just can't!" May yelled and tried to keep fighting like Ash, although both teens realized it was becoming futile.

Victini continued to watch the battle with fear and felt sorry for Ash, May, and their Pokémon. The Legendary Pokémon wished it could help, but it was only a baby and it wasn't sure what it could do.

Archeops sent Pikachu and Archeops flying against the glass with Rock Smash and made the two scream. "Noooooo, we're not going to give up!" Ash and May exclaimed and their Pokémon shared their determination, none of the 4 was planning on giving up.

"Why don't you just give up?!" Phantom was getting annoyed, but continued to grin evilly.

"Because we're going to protect Victini with our lives," May told the large man.

"We are not letting you or anyone hurt it, we're not going to let Victini or anyone done, we're going to beat you!" Ash yelled and Pikachu used Electro Ball, which was countered by AncientPower.

Victini managed to interpret the couple's words and connected them with their actions and that's when Victini realized what it could do. "Vi victini," the Fire-type could sense the good in Ash, May, and their Pokémon's hearts and began to close its eyes. The Psychic-type began to glow pale red and streams of pale red energy were emitted from its body and they were transferred to Pikachu and Liepard.

"Huh, what's going on?" Ash looked at Pikachu, who was also just as confused.

"Why is Liepard glowing like that?" May inquired, she and Liepard were also just as puzzled.

"Impossible, could it be?" Phantom turned around and saw Victini channeling its energy to Liepard and Pikachu. "That's it, that rat Pokémon is giving those Pokémon energy to beat me, well I don't think so, Archeops, crush it AncientPower!"

Ash, May, Pikachu, and Liepard were all surprised with what was going on, but they knew now wasn't the time for questions. When Phantom prepared to attack Victini, Ash took quick action.

"Pikachu, don't let Archeops hit Victini!" Ash yelled his instructions.

Archeops released the Rock-type attack at astounding speed, but Pikachu boosted its speed and bashed through the energy attack with Iron Tail, but then it felt itself being thrown at Archeops and it hit the Flying-type Pokémon, sending it flying against the floor.

"What was that?" Phantom's eyes widened.

"Pikachu, I think you overdid it," Ash was baffled by the amount of sheer force Pikachu applied to Iron Tail.

"It's Victini's power you fool, it's boosted Pikachu's power to new levels, and it's the rumored victory energy that the Majestic 12 wants. With that kind of power, domination is inevitable; Victini must be ours, Archeops, use Shadow Claw to get Victini!" Phantom went berserk and attacked Victini with the 3 copies of Archeops.

"Liepard, stop them with Dark Pulse!" May shouted.

Liepard rushed between Victini and the Archeops with phenomenal speed and blasted the copies away with Dark Pulse, making them vanish.

"Alright, way to go May!" Ash praised May for her triumph over the Archeops copies.

"Thanks Ash, but I think Victini's energy is stronger than we thought," May looked at the little guy who was still transferring energy.

Phantom grinded his teeth and glared at Ash and May, "Unbelievable, impossible, you were at my mercy a few minutes ago, this can't be. Archeops, take them down with Stone Edge, the four of them!"

"No, you don't!" Ash and May said at the same time.

"Liepard," May said.

"Pikachu," Ash said.

"Finish Archeops!" they both pointed at Archeops while yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Piiiiiiiikaaaaaachuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashed a massive Electro Ball to counter Stone Edge and defeat Archeops.

"Liiiiiiiepaaaaard!" the cat cried and unleashed a large Shadow Ball to take out Archeops.

The two sphere attacks spiraled around each other and destroyed Stone Edge and ultimately hit Archeops, causing a powerful explosion.

"Noooooooooo!" Phantom screamed and twitched angrily.

Archeops dropped to the ground like a rock, unconscious and unable to battle. "My Archeops…defeated…" Phantom looked at his signature Pokémon.

"Way to go!" Ash and May high-fived each other and congratulated their Pokémon.

Victini opened its eyes and stopped channeling energy. It saw Phantom crying over his loss and saw Archeops knocked out on the ground, while Ash, May, Pikachu, and Liepard were celebrating.

"Vi victini v!" Victini flew into the air and grinned happily.

"Victini!" Ash and May smiled when they saw the Fire-type flying cheerfully.

"Vi v victi-," the Legendary Pokémon got cut by Phantom who shot out a gun-like device that captured Victini in a rhombus-shaped cage, similar to the one Team Rocket tends to use.

The cage shocked Victini and made the little guy cry, infuriating Ash and May once again. Phantom chuckled and spoke to them, "You idiots, this is still not over."

* * *

Outside of the lighthouse, Roxas and everyone else got forced to surrender to Omega and the leader of the Majestic 12 and his allies anticipated the final news from Phantom. "You have lost, you have failed, it was the most predictable outcome since the start," Ghetsis taunted the group, especially his son.

"Now, you'll become our prisoners and watch dominate the rest of the world like we have dominated you," Giovanni chuckled.

"Remember that you wrought this upon yourselves, all suffering will be because of your actions," Colress tormented them further.

"Roxas, you disappoint me, I thought you had this one all planned out," Omega smirked at his enemy.

"I didn't," Roxas smirked.

"Why are you smiling, you lost, and as a reward, we even received all of your Pokémon," Zero questioned the raven-haired teen and bragged about the fact that Roxas's Pokémon were now under the Majestic 12's ownership.

"Because I didn't plan most of this," Roxas chuckled.

"Then who did?" Genesis asked.

"Look over there," Roxas motioned his head in the direction of Castelia City.

Hilbert, Hilda, N, Trip, Bianca, Omega, Ghetsis, Giovanni, and Colress all turned to the direction Roxas referred to and saw a whole fleet of military ships with the initials I.P.F on the side. Helicopters were also approaching the island and submarines emerged from the water.

"What, how did we not see this coming?" Ghetsis's eyes widened and grinded his teeth in frustration when he saw the large military force approaching.

"Because you only checked my part of the agenda," Roxas smirked at them. Then the sapphire-eyed teen swiftly rushed up to Zero and snatched his Pokéballs. The black-haired teen then blasted the silver-haired member away with an Aura Sphere.

"But you never checked mine," Looker chuckled and laughed in Omega and the other leaders' faces.

Zero got up and threatened to kill Roxas, before Genesis stopped him and cooled the Majestic 12 member.

"Blast it, this operation took too long, we calculated wrong, we have to retreat," Omega said.

"But what about Victini?" Ghetsis asked the man.

"That's in Phantom's hands now," Omega replied.

"We can't leave the island without Victini," Giovanni looked at Omega.

"Do you want your entire organization arrested over one Legendary Pokémon? What good is a sword if there is no soldier to wield it?" Omega gave him a stern gaze.

Omega turned to Genesis and spoke, "Tell Hunter J, Silver, and Cloud to escape the island, tell them Roxas and Looker brought more reinforcements that outnumber us by hundreds."

Genesis nodded and spoke through the Xtransceiver, "J, Silver, Cloud, escape from the island at this very minute, reinforcements from Looker's part are arriving to capture us all, forget about Auro, Nate, and Rosa."

* * *

The three Majestic 12 members in the cavern glared at Nate, Rosa, and Auro. Hunter J gave Auro and the other two teens a dirty stare, "Looks like you came more prepared than we thought. You saved yourselves this time, but next time will be different."

"Hopefully, next time you'll be even stronger," Silver chuckled and gave them a half-grin.

"I'm looking forward to it," Cloud also gave them the same gesture as Silver.

"When we do beat you, the only thing you'll win is a prison cell," Auro joked.

The 3 Majestic 12 members then blasted off and took a ghostly, black form like in Castelia and escaped out of the cavern. "So did we win?" Nate inquired.

"No, not yet, if we had won, J, Silver, and Cloud would have been our prisoners and if we had tried to do that right now, we would've only gotten killed. Besides, we're not even sure if Phantom has control of Victini yet," Rosa informed Nate.

"Rosa's right, we should go rush to the top of the lighthouse right now, they might need us," Auro said and they agreed, the trio then rushed up the stairs to reach their friends.

* * *

"You may escape this time, Omega, but I'll still hunt you down along with every other crook lurking in Unova, and there will be no escape from me when I find you. Next time you'll be the one at my mercy," Roxas glared at Omega.

"Very smart of you to not try and do that now, you're fleet is only just arriving while our unit is leaving, I look forward to our next confrontation," Omega smirked and then took a ghostly, black form with the rest of the other Majestic 12 members and blasted off into the sky.

Giovanni, Ghetsis, and Colress were also escorted to the subships hidden on the other end of the island that led to the ocean. "Do you think your forces could arrest any of them before they depart?"

Roxas examined the area, now free of all Majestic 12, Neo Plasma, and Rocket Grunts escaped on jetpacks or dashed off into the woodland area. "Unfortunately no, these crooks have always been good at making a fast exit, if we can bring the battle to them next time, we can guarantee an end to their reign of terror," Looker replied.

"So are we just going to let them go off like that?" Trip frowned at Looker.

"That wouldn't be very smart," N added.

"Of course we are not just going to let them get away with it, this is still far from over, we'll just have to target them with a more discreet plan next time," Roxas told them.

"I hope we are prepared for the next time they attack though, we'll need all the help we can get if we want to capture them," Bianca stated.

Roxas and Looker nodded in agreement. "Speaking of capturing bad guys, I don't think I saw Phantom blast out of the lighthouse," Hilda mentioned as she looked up at the building.

"Do you think he might still be in there?" Hilbert asked with a concerned look.

Roxas looked up and closed his eyes; his aura traveled through lighthouse and sensed the presence of three human auras, one of them was a corrupted aura. He opened his sapphire eyes and widened them, "Phantom's still there!"

* * *

Auro, Rosa, and Nate were now at the fifth floor and found Cilan and Iris. "Cilan, Iris!" Nate and Rosa yelled happily.

"Hey, we're glad to see you in one piece!" Cilan grinned at them.

"Us too," Auro grinned at them.

"Where are Ash and May though?" Rosa questioned.

"We were attacked by Rocket Grunts led by Phantom on this floor, we decided to stay behind and hold them back while Ash and May went after Phantom. We lost, but before they could take us prisoner, they were told to escape the island because Looker's police forces were arriving on the island and disappeared after using smoke pellets.

"Well yeah, we also lost our battle against J, Silver, and Cloud, but they are also told to retreat. If they hadn't they would've been captured, all Majestic 12 members, Neo Plasma members, and Rocket members are reported to have left the island at this point," Nate told the pair.

"If they're all gone, then how come Ash and May down yet and what about Victini?" Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Auro, Nate, Rosa, can you hear me?" Roxas communicated them through an Xtransceiver.

"Loud and clear," Auro responded.

"We were climbing the lighthouse right now to see how things were going, we caught up with Iris and Cilan right now at the fifth floor, but Ash and May are still at the top," Nate informed Roxas.

"That's because Phantom is still in the building," Roxas gave them a serious look.

"What?!" they all shouted simultaneously.

"You have to reach them fast, there's no telling what Phantom will do and Victini has awoken and is also there, hurry, please, I'm counting on you," Roxas gave them a concerned gaze.

"Don't worry, we won't let you down," Rosa informed Roxas.

"Alright, Roxas out," Roxas said and disappeared from the Xtransceivers of the 3 teens.

"We have to hurry and reach the top," Cilan said.

They all nodded in agreement and rushed to the tenth floor as fast as possible.

* * *

"Here's a present for you," Phantom chuckled and threw a blind grenade at Ash and May.

May jumped out of the zone the grenade would explode, but Ash didn't react in time and was left blinded along with Pikachu and Liepard.

"May, I can't see," Ash rubbed his eyes in anxiety.

"Piiiii," Pikachu did the same and so did Liepard.

"Don't worry guys, it'll go away, I'll get Victini back from Phantom," May told as she got up and glared at Phantom.

"May, no," Ash tried to reach out for her, but he still couldn't see.

Phantom raised an eyebrow, "Women tend to be more persistent than men, but you are even more persistent than an ordinary woman, little girl. Your persistence ends here though."

"Give Victini back!" May ran over to Phantom and tried to pull the cage away from him.

"Victiniiiiiii!" Victini began to cry amid the chaos while may desperately tried to get the cage from Phantom.

"You're not going to take it from me, missy, there are only two types of people in this world. Those who give things up and those who keep them," Phantom chuckled as he pulled the cage away from May.

"I happen to be the type who chooses to ke-," but the Phantom was cut when May kicked him in his sensitive spot.

The Phantom dropped on his knees and breathed heavily while May got the cage, "My mother always told me to never hit men there, but for you I make an exception," May frowned at Phantom and stuck her tongue out.

"Why you little brat, now you've done it," Phantom got up and ran over to her.

"No, you don't!" Ash popped out of nowhere and punched Phantom in the face hard enough to get him to almost crash against the nearby glass wall.

"Ash!" May smiled at him.

"Got my vision back," Ash winked at her, making the brunette giggle.

Pikachu and Liepard also appeared next to Ash, whom had also recovered their vision. May looked at Victini, who was still in the cage, crying, "Don't worry Victini, we'll break you of there right now," she assured him.

Victini stopped crying for a bit and looked at the sapphire-eyed girl who giggled and smiled at it. "May, throw the cage in the air so Pikachu can break it," Ash told her, who nodded and threw it into the air with all her might.

"Pikachu, break the cage with Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.

"Pikaaaachu!" Pikachu leaped into the air and broke the cage, freeing Victini.

Victini dropped into Ash's arms and the auburn-eyed teen held him, "Hey there Victini, enjoy being free again?" the boy smiled at the baby Legendary Pokémon.

Victini looked at Ash with confusion, but then grinned happily and smiled even more when May appeared. "It's so cute," May smiled at it.

"You annoying little brats, you're going to pay for the humiliation done to me today, you'll pay with your lives," Phantom grinded his teeth.

The Phantom then reached into his black coat and threw a Semtex Time Bomb at the stone in the middle of the room. When it made contact with the stone, it began to beep and beep.

"That bomb will blow up this entire room in less than 20 seconds, there's no escape for you, nice knowing ya," Phantom laughed and disappeared by going through a dark portal.

"Ash, there's only ten seconds left, what do we do?!" May looked at him with a worried look.

"There's nothing we can do, we won't escape in time," Ash gave May a fearful look and the brunette was in a state of shock.

The pair and their Pokémon looked at the bomb with fear and counted down in their minds, _3…2…1…_and the entire room blew up.

From outside, Roxas, and other's eyes widened with fear and shock as they saw pieces of the top floor fall down to the ground, the whole top was in flames at that moment and there was absolutely nothing left.

"Ash…May…" Roxas shook nervously while the others were dumbstruck by the destruction they had witnessed in the same room where there friends were.

On the inside of the building, Iris, Cilan, Auro, Nate, and Rosa, felt the building shake and the group also heard the explosion. Without wasting any more time they rushed up to the final floor and found it completely destroyed. The glass walls were entirely blown away and there was a large hole on the roof, everything inside the room was dead and destroyed, all except for the Sword of Victory, which was still stuck on the rock in the middle. There was wood and glass everywhere, they all walked around the damaged room silently, the five of them were in a state of shock. Then Rosa sees a large pile of black, broken wood that was from the ceiling and when she lifted up with the help of Nate and Auro, their eyes widened with shock, fear, and sadness filling up in their hearts.

Iris held onto Cilan's arm and felt like crying while Cilan clenched his fists in frustration. From the outside of the building, Roxas could also feel what was going on and disbelief filled his eyes, "No…" the raven-haired, sapphire-eyed teen whispered as the International Police Forces landed on the island.

**That was Chapter 22 and the end of this part of the story. Yeah it was long, but at least not as much as the first part, I'm sure there are grammatical errors, don't know how but there were, so let me know about that and if you understood the chapter, btw talk about suspense and cliffhanger huh? I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though it was a bit gloomy. I don't really want to talk much about the future chapters because I feel like I might reveal something, but I do hope you enjoyed the battles, Advanceshipping scenes etc. Till next time guys, take care!**


	23. Love in Paradise

Chapter 23: Doubt the World

"Looker, take the children to Virbank City, the show here is over," Roxas spoke with a stern tone as he looked up at the destroyed part of the tower.

The police officer just stared at Roxas after giving the order and then turned to the teens; they all had concerned expressions on their faces. Roxas turned around and looked at the group, his gaze was serious and the sapphire-eyed boy only managed to nod as he stared at them.

* * *

When Rosa lifted the rubble, her eyes lost their natural shine and she could feel sadness overcoming her, "Oh lord," was the only thing she could say.

Auro and Nate had serious faces on. They felt a sense of anger fill up inside them as they looked at the items in Rosa's hands.

"Isn't that-," Iris walked over with Cilan, but before she could finish, she got interrupted.

"Ash and May's halves of the Terracotta ribbons," Rosa picked them up and gazed at it with a saddened expression. The ribbons were practically unharmed, the golden centerpiece remained spotless while the ribbon itself was covered in dirt, but unlike the rest of the room it practically remained intact.

Iris held onto Cilan's arm and found herself fighting back tears in her eyes while Cilan frowned in frustration. Nate and Auro continued to stand there like statues as the wind blew inside through the cracked glass walls and made their hair wave.

"Is this all that's left of them?" Nate reached over for the ribbons and examined them.

Cilan sighed and spoke, "That's all that remains."

"The most well-known representation of the love those two had, the only thing that seems to be left from them," Auro stated, believing that Ash, May, and their Pokémon got blown into oblivion because of the blast.

"Even Victini is gone, nothing survived that explosion," Iris hung her head with a saddened look.

"We should go down and tell this to the others," Nate suggested and they all agreed. Without another word the group left the obliterated room behind, taking the ribbons with them, but that was it.

When they finally exited the lighthouse, they found the rest of the gang there, standing in silence. Roxas and the others quickly took notice of them and waited for them to say something, "Well?" the raven-haired teen asked with a frown.

"Where are they?" Hilda inquired, referring to Ash and May, the girl felt like she'd break down in tears if they didn't answer her.

"This was all we found," Auro handed over the halves of the Terracotta Ribbon.

Roxas grabbed them and looked at them, the golden centerpiece reflected his sapphire eyes, and he just kept staring at it. The raven-haired teen sighed and gazed up at the sky. Auro then began to speak, "What do we do now?"

"I need to head over to Virbank City and meet up with one of our allies. Auro, Nate, Rosa, I need you to return to Castelia City and assist the medics, firefighters, police in settling down anything going on over there, it may not be as hectic as before, but Castelia still needs our help," Roxas turned his attention to the trio and gave them instructions.

"Before I go, I'll order my forces to inspect the island in case Ash and May are still around," Looker informed Roxas.

"What about Victini?" Iris questioned.

"Victini could be dead for all we know, or it could have been taken by Phantom moments before the explosion," Roxas commented.

"I'll have my forces search around for Victini as well," Looker placed his hand on Roxas's muscular shoulder.

The sapphire-eyed teen in the black coat turned around and gave Looker a nod, "Thank you, Looker. We'll meet up in Virbank City."

"Of course," Looker shook his head.

"Good," Roxas said as he stood among his three partners and Auro, Rosa, and Nate all began to glow blue while Roxas reached for a Pokéball.

"Wait, before you guys leave, tell us who you are," Hilbert confronted them.

The group of four grinned and Roxas answered, "Only time will tell." With that said Auro, Nate, and Rosa took off like jets and left a blue trail of energy behind them while Roxas called out his Charizard.

"Take us to Virbank," the black-haired teen ordered and Charizard immediately took off at an incredible speed that produced a gust strong enough to make the leaves on the trees rustle and make Hilda's hair wave in the air.

_Only time will tell, _the teens left behind wondered.

When they stopped wondering, their attention turned to Looker. "So what now?" Trip asked.

"There's still one last thing to do before I leave this island," the officer said and turned behind him and frowned at N, who had been silent the whole time.

N grinned, not worrying that Looker was about to arrest him. "I wish I could continue working alongside you, but our differences won't allow that, and I have to stop my father at all costs."

"You've broken the law N, and for that you must be placed under the fist of the law," Looker glared at N.

"Worry about the whereabouts of Ash, May, and Victini, it's what I'll work on while I focus on stopping my father. Good luck, Looker, Iris, Cilan, Hilbert, Hilda, and the rest of you," N called out a Pokémon.

"I won't let you escape," Looker reached for a Pokéball while the teens stood by and let the policeman handle it.

"Archeops, DragonBreath now!" N ordered as a large avian appeared in front of the gang.

Archeops screeched and blasted a thick version of DragonBreath at the ground under it. "No!" Looker could be heard yelling as a large cloud of dust blocked everyone's sights. In the dust, N climbed onto Archeops and when the cloud of dust became thin, Looker and the others saw N flying high above the ground with Archeops.

"Darn," Looker gritted his teeth.

"I'm sorry," N told them as he flew off west, leaving his momentary allies behind.

"He got away!" Bianca screamed in frustration while the other teens also became annoyed with the results, not even N could be brought under their capture.

"He's probably going to continue to terrorize innocent people while getting what he wants," Trip frowned.

"He did say he would help search for Ash, May, or any trace of either of them though, N is the least of our problems right now," Iris pointed out.

"Ax ax axew," Axew got involved and agreed with its master.

"A very antiheroic attitude, if N could only see that his way is no better than his father's, we'd have a valuable ally," Cilan added.

"N is not as evil as the bad guys we fought, in the Castelia Sewers Hilbert and I saw him as someone we could trust, he just needs a realization to strike him and make him realize what he is doing is wrong. If that happens, he would help us," Hilda drew the conclusion of the N, making Hilbert slightly jealous about Hilda talking about another male like that, like if she admired him.

"I still have my doubts," Hilbert crossed his arms.

Looker sighed and responded, "That's enough, N is another threat like the M12, Team Rocket, and Team Neo Plasma, but right now I rather stay on his good side since like Hilda said, he seems to be more of an ally than enemy. The reason I was going to arrest was to keep him under my eye and have him help us combat the more critical conflict going on at the moment. The bigger threats are his father, Colress, Giovanni, and the Majestic 12. Plus, we have to worry about the possibility of Ash and May actually being dead, although I refuse to think much of it until we reach Virbank."

When they got Looker's words into their brains, the teens could only nod at what he said, they all still had mixed feelings about N, but they did know there was a larger threat still lurking out there, it was likely that their two friends were gone and they had to forget about the green-haired youth.

They all became quiet after Looker spoke and the police officer began to talk, "We'll be heading to Virbank right now. It's the nearest and safest city, understood?"

"Actually Looker, I was hoping to return to Castelia City and help Professor Juniper since she is probably still there," Bianca told the adult.

Looker looked at Bianca for a second and knew the lab assistant preferred to go help her mentor with the problems in Castelia. "Alright Bianca, if it is helping Professor Juniper what you want, then go."

"Thank you," Bianca responded politely.

"I would also like to return to Castelia with Bianca, I feel like they would need me more in the city right now," Trip also volunteered.

Looker grinned and replied, "Very well Trip, a trainer of your caliber is most likely needed at the mainland right now, so you're free to go."

"Thanks," Trip nodded and gave a half grin while Bianca smiled at him, glad she would be having one of her friends coming along.

Their other friends smiled at the pair for volunteering to help, but Hilda's mind was on something else, out of all of them, she was probably the most sensitive one after May and the thought that kept getting into her head were Ash and May.

In the end, she couldn't help but ask Looker about them, "Looker, do you believe Ash, May, Pikachu, Victini, and well anyone else that was up there is still alive?"

She could feel her heart beginning to try to punch itself out of her chest, waiting for Looker to give her an answer. The man gave her a sympathetic look and answered, "I don't know Hilda, and it seemed like a powerful blast. Like I said though, I'll have my team search for them if they are alive."

Hilda hung her head and sighed, wishing she could have gotten a more satisfying response. She felt a hand place itself on her shoulder and she looked up to see Hilbert giving her a sympathetic grin. "Don't give in to your emotions so soon Hilda, don't give up faith yet," Hilbert grinned, knowing Hilda for so long, the boy could tell how sensitive she was and he knew what made her, mad, sad, happy, etc. Hilda placed her hand on his and returned the smile.

"Hilbert is correct; we shouldn't lose hope so soon. Just because only their ribbons were found, doesn't mean they're gone. Honestly, I believe those two are still out there, somewhere. I probably don't know Ash and May better than any of you, but from the encounters I've had with them, I know they have iron guts and luck. It'll take more than a bomb to get rid of those two, you just have to have the belief that they are alive," Trip crossed his arms and spoke sternly, and although he was serious about it, what Trip said about the pair was probably the nicest things he's said about them so far and his words renewed the gang's faith.

"Trip is right, we have to maintain faith that Ash, May, and the others are still alive, I've never met anyone with more iron guts than those two," Cilan became encouraged by Trip.

"You are a jerk at times, Trip, but you seem to know what to say at the right time, I also believe those two are still out there, and Pikachu, and Victini!" Iris and Axew pumped their fists out of the growing feeling of optimism inside them.

Trip sighed and spoke, "Just don't tell those two I said that when they show up, Ash will probably begin to believe I am his friend or something."

The group laughed, knowing deep down, Trip already made Ash a friend, as well as May. Hilbert, Hilda, and Bianca were the ones who knew that Trip was actually one of the friendliest people out there once you get through his barrier of seriousness.

Looker couldn't help, but grin at Trip's words and found an optimistic attitude inside him, he also began to believe that Ash and May were still out there, may be not on the island, but out there, somewhere. For now though, they had to mobilize.

"Bianca, Trip, one of the teams on the island is at the harbor, you should head over there right now so you can get to Castelia City if you want to go help," Looker informed the two.

"Alright then, let's get moving Trip," Bianca nodded at Looker.

Trip nodded and before leaving with Bianca, he said one last thing to Looker, "If anything on Ash and May pops up, contact Bianca, Professor Juniper, or me. We'll probably be as interested as you guys when news about them shows up."

"Will do," Looker shook his head and smiled at the pair.

"Thank you, Looker, goodbye guys, we'll catch up with you soon," Bianca waved goodbye to the gang as she began walking with Trip.

"Sayonara," Trip flicked two fingers at the group behind him as he walked off with Bianca.

As the gang smiled at their departing friends, who were now barely in sight, wind started to build up and the sounds of a chopper could be heard. Looker looked up and grinned, "Perfect, the helicopter is here."

"What for?" Iris inquired, staring at the navy blue chopper that lowered itself in front of them.

"This is our method of transportation to Virbank City," Looker grinned at them as the helicopter finally landed.

"Cool, I've never been on one before," Hilbert couldn't help, but run to the vehicle and get on it.

"We should be arriving in Virbank within six hours with a helicopter, am I correct Looker?" Cilan questioned.

"Correct Cilan, now if you would all please get on board, we have a lot of things waiting for us in Virbank City," Looker stated and they all got on the chopper.

"Oh boy, I can't wait!" Hilbert exclaimed in excitement while Iris, Cilan, and Axew, who had popped out of her hair to wonder what the fuss is about, began to chuckle.

Hilda sighed and spoke to Hilbert as they all buckled their seatbelts, "You know you come off as a child sometimes."

Hilbert chuckled nervously, "Sorry, it's my first time."

"Captain, take us off," Looker ordered as he stood by the part where you got onboard, he stretched his arm upward and held onto a rail as the helicopter began to take off. The group of 5 looked at the island through the windows and bid it farewell, from a bird's-eye view, the destruction of Castelia City and Liberty Garden was very clear and it was the last thing the gang saw as they flew towards Virbank City.

* * *

Somewhere, deep under the ocean, a black base with a dome structure was hidden and inside one of the rooms, there was a long silver table with three figures sitting down, Colress, Ghetsis, and Giovanni. They sat together at the left end of the long table and another figure stood in front of the sitting trio, it was Omega and like the three leaders sitting down, Omega had a displeased gaze.

"You promised us Victini, you ensured we would attain victory, yet here we are in the face of defeat!" Ghetsis snarled at Omega.

"We didn't pay good money for your assistance just so we would end up being defeated," Giovanni clenched his right fist.

"We were left humiliated by scummy police forces and gang of pesky teenagers," Colress glared at Omega.

Omega closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them, his blank stare became a glare and he spoke, "My team proceeded with the plan perfectly, it was your useless henchmen that brought us almost to our knees in Liberty Garden. For starters, your agents, Colress, failed to obtain any agenda regarding the International Police Force's counterattack against our plans. My followers were in charge of hacking into those meddlesome teenagers' plans to attack us. The fact that your team was too careless in that operation has led to the arrest and loss of a one-fifth of the entire unit we assembled with our alliance."

"You assured us that the bigger threat would be that punk Roxas and his friends. We weren't expecting such heavy resistance from a group of average teens and police officers prepared for war!" Ghetsis slammed his fist on the table.

"Never judge a book by its cover," Omega crossed his arms as he frowned at Ghetsis with his amber eyes.

"That doesn't make up for the fact that a superior battler lost to some troublesome kids," Giovanni crossed his arms and he remained seated.

"If you're referring to your best operative, Pierce, I have to admit that I'm disappointed at myself for relying on such a weakling to handle the job of taking down Ash and May in Castelia City. He hasn't even returned with the rest of our units from the battle in Castelia City," the silver-haired man criticized Giovanni's best operative. "It was because of his failure that we weren't able to progress with the plan like we would've liked and the rocket operatives in the lighthouse also failed similarly. They were suppose to keep Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan at bay, not just Iris and Cilan, if they had held off all 4, we would have Victini with us right now. I'm wouldn't be surprised if your famous Rocket Trio with the Meowth ended up being killed in that incident since they aren't with us."

Giovanni glared at Omega and replied, "The Rocket Trio's failure comes as no surprise to me, but I put my greatest operatives to handle Ash and May both in Castelia City and Liberty Garden. We were not expecting such a difficult battle from average brats."

Omega frowned at Giovanni and spoke, "Next time, you'll let my operatives handle the critical points of the mission. My error in this mission was the reliance I showed in your operatives, right now they are in the middle of organizing the next phase of our plan. We may not have obtained Victini, but the other Legendary Pokémon lurking in Unova will be enough to make up for the loss. My best men will also be in charge of taking down Ash and May this time."

"There will be no need for that," a rough voice said and they all looked behind Omega and saw a dark portal where a large man with a turquoise beard came out of it.

"Well, look what the devil dropped in," Colress smirked when he saw Phantom.

"Phantom, we believed you were lost," Giovanni chuckled.

"You shouldn't have returned, unless if you returned with Victini," Ghetsis remained serious.

"The next time, I'll leave you three against those two punks," Phantom glared at them.

"One thing I'm curious about is the fact that you returned without a single wound. I expected them to leave you broken," Omega crossed his arms and looked at his underling.

Phantom chuckled and got on one knee while he maintained his other knee up. "My lord, Ash, May, and Victini, are no more."

Omega gave Phantom a blank look while the three leaders stood up, all of them exclaiming, "Impossible!"

"I may not have obtained Victini, but I blew those two up so they would no longer be a threat to us. I barely managed to make it out of there, but in the end, the world's greatest duo died in the tragic explosion," Phantom chuckled with delight.

Giovanni, Colress, and Ghetsis had satisfied grins overcoming their faces as they gazed at Phantom. It was a giant leap for the villainous alliance with Ash and May out of the picture, but Omega wasn't convinced.

The silver-haired man placed his right hand a few centimeters away from Phantom's face and looked at Phantom coldly as he revealed his palm, his hand protected by his black leather glove. "My lord?" Phantom questioned his actions.

All of a sudden, an attack that resembled Shadow Ball shot out of his palm and blasted Phantom against a wall, leaving a few scratches on his face. The 3 criminal leaders became horrified as Phantom groaned in pain, "Omega, why?"

Omega pulled his hand and arm back as he started to speak sternly, "Because the light is too bright to see through. I'm not convinced that those two are dead, it's too easy; never make a judgment without evidence Phantom, remember how we operate. Do you have any proof of the pair's death?"

Phantom began to shake in fear and gave the leader of the Majestic 12 a disappointed gaze, "No sir."

"That's what I thought; I won't let my organization degrade itself to the level of Team Rocket or Team Neo Plasma. The next time you show the stupidity of a regular grunt, Phantom, you will have receive a greater punishment," Omega informed his underling, who nodded.

"Well, I'll believe your operative's words. If Ash and May are gone, they're gone, if they got killed in an explosion, then there was no possible way of escaping," Ghetsis stated.

Omega chuckled with a very deep tone and smirked at Ghetsis, "We'll see for how long you hold that belief. Right now, let us focus on taking down the meddlesome teenagers who consider themselves freedom fighters. I have a wide array of plans set and this time, we will commence with the most favorable one at the moment, Project G."

Ghetsis and the other leaders and even Phantom became shocked when they heard of the step Omega decided to take.

* * *

Meanwhile, north of Liberty Garden, in a heavily wooded area, five figures lay on the grass unconscious. Two of them were humans, they were both covered in dirt and surrounding them were injured Pokémon, two of them were small in comparison to the large purple feline. Not only were they covered in dirt, but black smudges they had received in an explosive battle not too long ago.

As the setting sun shined on the face of the brunette girl, she desperately tried to shut her eyes tighter so the light would not interrupt her sleep, of course this was futile. When she gave up, she slowly opened her eyes and saw a partially orange sky above her. When she shifted her head around gently and saw the forest around her, she instantly got up and began to ask herself, "How did I get here, where am I?"

She turned her head to the left and saw her feline Pokémon lying on the ground close to a rodent-like creature and another more fairy-like creature. A little closer to her was a raven-haired boy, her lover; he laid there like if the grass was as comfortable as his bed. The smile on his face seemed to imply that anyway.

May giggled and spoke, "He's adorable when he's asleep." Although her mind quickly shifted back to the matter of how they ended up here or what even happened before ending up here. She saw that her boyfriend and the Pokémon were covered in dirt, smudges, etc. When she saw how dirty she was, she sighed, _I hate it when I get my clothes dirty,_ the girl thought in her mind, but when she focused her gaze on the fairy-like creature her memory returned to her in a second.

She instantly recalled the battle between Ash, her, and Phantom and their desperate attempt to protect Victini from the evil pirate. As a last resort, Phantom threatened to blow up the place and the last thing she heard before everything went black was a loud explosion.

"That explains what happened before getting here. Ash and I were protecting Victini from Phantom and then there was this explosion, but I still can't remember about how we got in this forest. It doesn't even look like where in Liberty Garden anymore," May examined the area around her.

May looked down at the ground in one final attempt to remember, but it was no use, she turned her gaze to Ash and said, "I'll try waking up Ash, maybe he knows."

Not finding the energy to stand up, she crawled over to him and shrugged his shoulder, "Ash, wake up, I think we got enough sleep," May tried to awaken him, but the boy remained motionless. She placed her finger on her chin and snapped her fingers, _I know! _She giggled and said, "Food is ready."

She shrugged his shoulder again and the boy moved slightly this time, saying, "Too early…" with a lazy voice and continuing his sleep.

May placed her hands on her hips and thought to herself, _never thought I'd hear that one. If the announcement of food doesn't wake him up, what will…unleeeessss…_the girl had a sneaky look on. "You left me no choice Ashy," May smirked and leaned in to kiss the boy. She let her tongue enter his as their lips touched, with her tongue in his mouth, she quickly began to tickle the roof of it and Ash couldn't help but wonder what was going on. May pulled back right before Ash sat up in an instant, his eyes now alert and his body warm from the kiss he received from an unknown source.

He rubbed his face with his hands to awaken himself a bit more and asked, "Did I die and go to heaven? It looks just like the Earth," the boy looked forward while still fixing his vision.

"Not exactly," a voice said and Ash turned to his right and saw the angelic face he was deeply in love with.

"May," the boy smiled when he saw her.

"We're still alive Ash," the sapphire-eyed girl giggled. "Sorry about waking you up like that by the way, but you didn't give me choice since you wouldn't wake up to my other calls," the brunette explained.

Ash grinned and replied, "It's alright, I actually wouldn't mind if you did that more often," the boy chuckled and winked.

May winked back at him and they both shared a quick laugh. Ash then looked around and saw Liepard, Pikachu, and Victini lying unconscious on the ground, "May, do you know what's going on? How'd we get here?"

"I wish I knew how we ended here too; I was hoping you would know after waking up. All I was able to remember was a battle with Phantom, when we tried to protect Victini from him and nearly lost. The very last thing I remember though was a loud explosion and everything went dark," the coordinator said to Ash.

Ash thought about what May said for a minute and had his memories returning to him as well, "Yeah, now I remember, we barely made it out of alive. If Victini hadn't powered up Liepard and Pikachu, we would've been goners."

May nodded in agreement and thanked the luck they had received in that battle. She turned to Victini, Pikachu, and Liepard, "We should probably wake them up now too."

"Right," Ash bobbed his head and stood up with May. They both flexed their muscles to get their bodies moving and then walked over to awaken their Pokémon. May walked over to Liepard and Ash to Pikachu, both trainers began shrugging their Pokémon as they slowly started to awaken.

"C'mon Liepard, naptime is over," May smiled at Liepard, who slowly opened its eyes and could see a blurry May.

"Pikachu, time to wake up pal," Ash grinned at Pikachu; the mouse gently opened its eyes and saw Ash in front of it.

"Pi?" Pikachu got out as he tried to wake up from his nice sleep.

"Hey buddy," Ash smiled happily at his Electric-type.

Pikachu rubbed its eyes as it sat up and when its vision cleared, it joyfully jumped into Ash's arms, "Pikapi!"

"Hey Liepard, did you enjoy your sleep?" May giggled as Liepard happily got on all fours and rubbed itself against May.

"Lie," Liepard purred as it rubbed itself against May and flexed its muscles in the process. May couldn't help and giggle at the feline.

When the exchange of affection between the trainers and their Pokémon ended, Ash and May turned their attention to the little orange Pokémon, still asleep on the grass, Liepard and Pikachu also turned to Victini.

May walked over to Victini with Ash and they kneeled down to wake up the Legendary Pokémon. "Victini, time to get up," May shrugged the Fire-type.

"Hope you enjoyed your sleep, but it's time to wake up," Ash tried to get through Victini's mind and wake it up, he also shrugged Victini in an attempt to wake up the little one.

"It's cute when it's asleep," May admired the little Pokémon with Ash.

"After a tough battle, it must have been really tired," Ash stared at the Pokémon.

Liepard and Pikachu also approached Victini and the four smiled at the innocent little one. It was thanks to this small creature that they had been able to overcome Phantom's ruthlessness and they were grateful to the Victory Pokémon. When May placed her hand on Victini's head and caressed it gently, the Psychic-type slowly opened its eyes and saw the group of four.

It blinked several times to get a clear vision, "V?" the Pokémon gradually began to remember who they were and saw May's hand on its head.

"Hello Victini," May smiled when she greeted Victini and pulled her arm back.

"Glad to see you're awake," Ash grinned at it.

"Pi pi pika," Pikachu smiled as well with Liepard.

Victini instantly got up and began hovering above the ground. "Vi victini v vi!" Victini flew around the group; it cheered happily and playfully rubbed itself against Ash and May's cheeks.

"Someone's up and ready," May giggled while Victini rubbed itself against her cheeks.

"It's nice to see Victini this happy, after everything that's go on it's as cheerful as ever," Ash commented when Victini rubbed itself against his cheek.

They all laughed at Victini's gleeful attitude and gazed at with happiness. "V vi!" Victini dashed at Ash and May and embraced them in a small hug.

"It's really taken a liking towards us," May grinned and placed her hand on Victini.

"It must be thankful that we saved it," Ash returned Victini's hug, smiling at May as they both held the hovering Legendary Pokémon.

Pikachu and Liepard admired the affection shared among the three, Pikachu hated to break the moment but it was curious about something. "Pikachu pi pika pi," Pikachu asked the pair.

"Actually yeah, May and I were wondering how we ended up here too pal," Ash separated from Victini.

"How'd we end up from a lighthouse to the middle of a forest?" May asked herself again, but her question also made Ash, Liepard, and Pikachu wonder.

When Victini noticed the pondering expressions on their faces it grinned and spoke, "Victini v vi."

"What's wrong Victini?" Ash questioned the Legendary Pokémon.

Victini hovered slightly above the pair's heads and grinned, "Vi," it then put its hands on their heads.

"What's it doing?" May looked at Ash, feeling Victini's small hand on her hair.

"I'm not sure," Ash looked up at Victini who just kept smiling; even Liepard and Pikachu were confused.

All of a sudden, Ash and May's eyes turned baby blue and in their minds, a whole scene began to build up. It was from a third-person perspective and they saw themselves with Liepard and Pikachu, confronting a defeated Phantom.

_"You annoying little brats, you're going to pay for the humiliation done to me today, you'll pay with your lives," Phantom grinded his teeth._

_The Phantom then reached into his black coat and threw a Semtex Time Bomb at the stone in the middle of the room. When it made contact with the stone, it began to beep and beep._

_"That bomb will blow up this entire room in less than 20 seconds, there's no escape for you, nice knowing ya," Phantom laughed and disappeared by going through a dark portal._

_"Ash, there's only ten seconds left, what do we do?!" May looked at him with a worried look._

_"There's nothing we can do, we won't escape in time," Ash gave May a fearful look and the brunette was in a state of shock._

_The pair and their Pokémon looked at the bomb with fear and counted down in their minds, __**3…2…**_

"_Vi victini v," Victini shut its eyes tightly and a red aura formed around the group of five. Ash, May, and their Pokémon had their eyes shut and waited for the explosion to take them away, but a millisecond before it could, Victini teleported them away, in the process knocking them out with its psychic powers. _

_What Victini saw as it traveled at a speed almost as fast as the speed of light was a loud explosion coming from the lighthouse. The next moment, Victini found itself and its friends in another part of Unova, a very woodland area and when they arrived there, far away from harm. Victini let out a heavy breath and dropped the bodies of the gang, the red aura around them disappearing, when Victini saw them drop unconscious, it also felt very tired and dropped to the ground, falling asleep when it hit the ground. _

Victini took its hands off Ash and May and their eyes returned to their normal color. Ash and May shook their heads to gain back their composure and they both looked at Victini. "So that's what happened," Ash now understood everything.

"We only survived by a millisecond from that bomb," May felt fear grow in her body, recollecting scene of how close they were from death, but the brunette shook it off and was glad she was here with Ash, Pikachu, Liepard, and Victini, alive.

"Thank you Victini," Ash grinned and looked up at the small Pokémon.

"Thank you so much, you saved our lives," May smiled and thanked the Fire-type. She was so thankful towards the Victory Pokémon that she leaped at it and embraced it in a hug. "Thank you so much," May rubbed herself against Victini and felt a few tears stream down her cheeks and onto Victini.

Victini looked up at May and wondered why it was crying, "V?" the Pokémon asked. Ash approached May and Victini and wrapped his arms around the girl from behind and embraced her and Victini, "It's alright, we're all here together now, that's all that counts," the boy grinned and placed his head on May's.

Pikachu climbed onto Ash's shoulder and hugged May from behind as well while Liepard rubbed itself against May's leg and Victini rubbed its face against her cheek, trying to make the girl happy.

May smiled when she saw all her loved ones around her and she let out a few more tears while grinning. For the next few minutes they all remembered in this position, embracing themselves like for there were no tomorrow.

When Ash realized the sun was setting fast, he was forced to separate and spoke, "May, it's almost nighttime. We should probably get moving and hope we find a place to spend the night."

May stopped hugging Victini and Liepard also separated from, "Good idea Ash, at least we have our supplies," May grinned at Ash, showing him her fanny pack.

"Good thing I didn't leave my backpack off somewhere," Ash showed his backpack, which was on his back and he tend to leave somewhere while going off to do something.

May wiped away the moist from the tears off her cheeks and spoke, "We should probably find out where we are exactly though."

Ash nodded and checked the Xtransceiver on his wrist and tapped on the screen a few times. The raven-haired teen scratched the back of his head with his free arm and said, "It says here we're north of Liberty Garden, near Virbank City, the closest town nearby and it's a day's walk away from here."

"That's what my Xtransceiver says too, you think we can make it by nighttime?" May looked from the Xtransceiver to Ash.

Ash turned to May and put on his thinking look. For a few seconds he looked up at the orange sky, when he finished he placed his fists on his hip and sighed, "I don't think we can. If we tried to walk nonstop we'd get there between the morning and noon."

"Then I guess we should just walk for a bit until it's time to camp," the brunette suggested.

"Yeah, after a long day we should just take it slow. Tomorrow first thing in the morning we'll head to Virbank City," Ash agreed with May's suggestion and stated what they would do after that.

May nodded and turned her attention to Liepard. "Liepard, I think it's best if you return to your Pokéball. You've earned yourself some rest after everything you've been through," May told her partner with a soft grin.

"Liepard," the feline nodded and smiled at the trainer.

The brunette smiled at it and reached for her Pokéball, "Return," and with that Liepard became red energy and got transported inside the Pokéball. May then put away Liepard in her fanny pack and waited for Ash to make the call.

"Pikachu, you should get on my shoulder for this one, you've been through enough for one day," Ash recommended to his partner.

"Pi pikapi pi," Pikachu grinned at his friend and climbed all the way to his shoulder. The two friends smiled at each other and looked at May. Then he noticed Victini hovering right beside her.

Ash raised his eyebrow and began to wonder something. May quickly noticed and asked, "Ash what's wrong?"

"I was wondering if Victini would like to come with us," the auburn-eyed boy stated.

May turned to Victini and grinned at it, Victini began flying around up and down, left and right, smiling at the teens. The sapphire-eyed teen smiled at it and then at Ash, "I think we've got our answer Ash."

Ash grinned at Victini's jolly nature and nodded, "Welcome to the group Victini."

"You'll be coming with us to Virbank, it'll be fun," May winked at it while flashing a grin.

"Vi v vi victini!" Victini rubbed its cheek against May's and then rushed over to Ash and rubbed its cheek against the raven-haired teen.

The pair and Pikachu laughed as Victini flied around in joy. "Well let's get going then, Victini, you can get on my shoulder if you'd like," May said to the Legendary Pokémon.

"Victini!" Victini flew down to May and slowed its pace until it gradually descended on May's left shoulder and sat there. "V vi," Victini beamed.

"Let's go," Ash looked at Victini and May, causing him to smile.

May bobbed her head and they began walking through the woods, it was a very dense woodland area, but it looked like there were no Pokémon nearby. As they walked, they were all very quiet, not even Victini did anything, it just sat calmly on May's shoulder while walking through the forest.

"Ash what will we do when we reach Virbank City?" May inquired, wondering what they would do.

Ash showed a face of uncertainty, "I'm not sure May, the first thing we could do is try to contact Iris, Cilan, or anyone that we know and let them know where we are."

May then remembered the last time she and Ash saw the pair and wondered about them, pondering in her head as to where they were or if they were safe. Thinking of Iris and Cilan provoked her to think about their other friends they had left on the island, "Ash, do you think Iris, Cilan, Hilbert, Hilda or anyone we know for that matter, is ok? I'm worried as to what might have happened to them, what if they got captured by Omega, Team Rocket, or Team Neo Plasma?"

"I'm worried about them too May, we don't know what's going on with them and they don't know what's going on with us. They might think we are…dead… because there was trace of us after the explosion," Ash froze when he said "death", it was very a word he was comfortable saying, but this time he had no choice.

"Do you think they really believe we're gone?" the sapphire-eyed girl became concerned.

"I hope not, if they know us well enough, they'll know it takes more than a guy with a bomb to get rid of us," Ash joked and chuckled, trying to ease May's worries.

May still remained uncertain and her worrisome gaze worried Ash. The black-haired teen placed his hand on May's shoulder and told her, "No need to worry May, I'm sure our friends are alright and we'll be together again once we reach Virbank City. I guarantee we're all going to be reunited and celebrate that we stopped those guys from harming Victini or destroying Castelia City."

When the coordinator saw Ash's optimistic face she felt a grin forming on her face. His optimism passed onto her and she pictured the friends all reuniting and laughing together, the brunette was excited about reaching Virbank City, she was eager to see her friends safe and sound again.

"And once we're reunited, we'll get back on track and keep going to the gyms and contests, everything will turn back to normal," Ash assured her even further. He then reached for hand and connected his with hers.

May let out a deep breath and leaned closer to Ash, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked together. Victini got caught between the two heads, but the Fire-type couldn't be happier to be between his two saviors and got greeted by Pikachu, who he was happy to see.

"Thank you Ash, I needed that. I just can't wait to get to Virbank City," May explained to her boyfriend.

"Don't worry about a thing May, we'll be there by tomorrow, just relax ok?" Ash kissed her head as reassurance.

"Ok," May blushed slightly and squeezed Ash's hand affectionately.

The time had flown by since they began walking and the sky was slowly turning into a dark color while the orange was only half of the sky now. Ash took note of this and said something, "I think we should camp here for the night, it's getting late and it'll start to get cold."

"I don't see why not," May stopped when Ash stopped, "Look Ash, there's a lake just past these trees," May pointed northeast.

Ash focused his vision in the direction she pointed at and saw a circular blue color surrounded by grass, "You're right May, this is great. We can shower there tonight and get rid of all this dirt," Ash realized that they were both extremely dirty from the dirt and black smoke.

"We?" May smirked at him teasingly.

Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle while Victini became confused as to what the brunette meant. Ash put on a startled look and frowned at her, "I meant showering one at a time! We're not showering together!" Ash's face became red but not out of anger, but because of embarrassment.

May giggled and winked at Ash, "Relax Ash; I'm just pulling your leg. Even if we're a couple it'd be weird to see us like that while showering."

"Well ok," Ash sighed and gave her a sheepish smile.

Ash took his mind off May's joke and looked at the area around them, not only did they have a lake nearby, but the spot they stopped in was clear of trees and formed a circle with a diameter of about 20 feet. "This is where we'll camp, it's perfect in size and the lake is close. I'll start setting up the sleeping bags and anything else we'll need for the night," Ash informed May about his plan and dropped his backpack on the ground.

"Alright, while you do that I think I'll go shower, I can't stand being this dirty," May looked at her dirt-stained black and white clothes.

Ash nodded, knowing hygiene and being clean are valued highly by girls, after living and traveling with females, he knew that almost better than anyone. "Oka-," but before Ash could finish, the sound of loud grumbling filled the forest and Victini and Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle at Ash and May, whose faces became red from shame.

"Will we have anything to eat?" May grabbed her stomach while laughing nervously.

Ash laughed nervously and replied, "Well, I have some of Cilan's supplies in my backpack. I'm not much of a cook, but I have ham, cheese, and bread for a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, how hard can that be? " The boy sighed, even after traveling with cooks he became ashamed of himself for never paying much attention as to how they cooked, _note to self, ask Cilan or Brock to teach me how to cook some day, _the boy thought in his mind. "Usually I'm not comfortable touching food and cooking equipment because I'm afraid I'll end up burning it, but I'll make an exception for Pikachu, Victini, and you, May," Ash grinned at the girl, explaining his reluctance to cook, but for his friends and girlfriend, he would do anything, including cooking.

"Awww, that's sweet Ash, it doesn't have to taste the best. It's the fact that you're willing to cook something for us that counts," May walked over to him and pecked him on the cheek, making the boy smile because of her kindness.

"V victini," Victini showed the same gratitude towards Ash and flew around him.

"Pi pikapi," Pikachu also displayed appreciation for his best friend's willingness to cook.

"After showering, I'll come and help you k," May winked at him and reached for the towel inside Ash's backpack.

Ash nodded at her and then May walked away towards the lake. After a few seconds of staring at the beautiful brunette, Ash turned his attention to his backpack, "Well, let's get started."

He walked over to it and dug inside in search of the stuff he would need for the food. "Here's the cheese," Ash took out a plastic container with sliced cheese inside; he continued digging and pulled out something else, "Here's the sliced ham." He then reached in to get the last thing, "And the sliced bread," Ash pulled out a bag with a long stack of sliced bread inside.

"Pikachu pi pika," Pikachu walked over to the food with Victini and examined it. He began counting it and then turned to Ash, "Pikapi pi."

"There's only enough for one sandwich each?" Ash looked at the food and realized that Pikachu was right. There were only enough sandwiches for everybody if everyone ate one sandwich. The auburn-eyed teen sighed and spoke, "Well, everyone needs to eat so we have no choice pal."

"Pi," Pikachu nodded, understanding the situation and didn't mind having just one sandwich.

Victini just gazed at the food and licked its lips with delight; the Fire-type was clearly hunger and couldn't wait till it could get some food.

Ash stood up and crossed his arms, "Pikachu, I'm going to go get firewood, please take care of Victini and our stuff while I'm gone alright?"

"Pi-," Pikachu got interrupted by Victini.

Victini shook its head sideways and said, "Vi victini v vi."

Pikachu quickly understood what Victini tried to say and said, "Pikachu pi pika pi."

Ash was uncertain about letting the two small Pokémon go, but then again, Pikachu has done this before and with Victini's psychic powers, it'd be much easier. "Victini, do you really want to go get the firewood?" Ash inquired the Legendary Pokémon.

"V," Victini nodded happily.

"You too, Pikachu?" Ash asked his yellow friend.

"Pi," Pikachu nodded, the mouse was more than willing to go, but he also felt like he should be with Victini and protect it.

Ash let out a deep breath and said, "Well alright, but be back soon ok?"

Victini and Pikachu shook their heads up and down and rushed into the woodland area in search of wood. Ash looked at them until they disappeared among the trees, "Since they're off doing that, I'll just take out the pan, luckily it's the only thing I need for this," the boy spoke to no one in particular.

The raven-haired teen walked over and kneeled down to get the pan, "Cilan put me in charge of his favorite pan, wonder if he'll freak out when he remembers that I have it. He's really fond of it," Ash said when he pulled it out and examined it. "I still don't see what's so special about a pan, but everyone has something they are fond of," Ash smiled at the pan, remembering of his good friend, Cilan.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of leaves rustling and Ash turned instantly, "Huh?" the boy inspected the area, "Who's there?" Ash began to worry that it might have been an enemy.

He looked through the trees and spotted something very odd wandering through the woods for a second before it disappeared again. "What's that?" Ash had seen the figure before, but couldn't exactly remember what; it was the projected soul of a creature, but he still couldn't make it out. It had two tails and a cone-shaped head with elf ear-like protrusions on each side. Nonetheless, Ash failed to identify it and it disappeared again, never appearing again. "That was weird," Ash looked in the direction of it and looked on for a few more seconds. He shrugged his shoulders, "It's gone now though, guess I'll just get back to setting up camp," Ash said and returned to his business.

* * *

Meanwhile, May was tying the shoelaces of her shoes, which had the same design of her original ones, except black and white. She stood with her towel in her hand, "That was refreshing," the girl let out a deep breath, she decided not to wear her usual white sleeveless jacket or her white bandana, and instead chose to wear a simple black tank top, which like her regular black shirts exposed some cleavage, but unlike her black shirts, did show her lower stomach. May was well aware of the slightly provocative shirt she wore and how mature she had gotten physically, "Hope Ash doesn't mind me wearing just this shirt and shorts," she looked at herself in the reflection of the water and smiled at herself, "I don't think so, it'll be funny if he calls me cute though," May giggled as she spoke to herself and kept checking her body in the reflection of the water.

When she finished examining herself in the water, she looked up and saw the projected soul of an unknown creature hovering above the middle part of the lake. It looked extremely familiar to her; she had seen it before in drawings when she visited Sinnoh over a year ago. It had two and four long, drooping appendages. It hovered like a statue above the lake, "What Pokémon is that?" May rubbed her eyes with the towel to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

While May did that, the creature shot up into the sky like a rocket and disappeared from sight. When May lowered the towel to see again, it was no longer there, May shook her head and spoke, "After a long and exhaustive day, I'm starting to see stuff, at least it's over," she then stared at the sky and was thankful for coming out in one piece. When she snapped out of her trance she said something else, "I should get back to Ash, wonder how it's going with the cooking," the girl turned back to the woods and began running.

* * *

"Great job you two," Ash congratulated Pikachu and Victini as they stood in front of the pile of wood. Ash walked closer to the pile of wood and said, "Now that that's done, I'll just start the fire."

Before Ash could do anything though, Victini stopped him, "V victini vi," the Pokémon put his hand in front of Ash.

"What's wrong Victini?" Ash asked the Pokémon, confused.

"Victini," Victini grinned a spewed out a Flamethrower, lighting up the wood very easily.

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered that the fireplace was now set.

Ash chuckled and displayed a sheepish grin, "Oh right, I forgot you were a Fire-type," the raven-haired teen scratched the back of his head with awkwardness.

"V," Victini grinned.

"I feel like you guys have done everything, it's my turn to do the stuff now," Ash grinned and revealed his pan, "I'll do the cooking part now." He kneeled down and untied the knot of the bag of bread and took out a slice. He placed the bread on the pan and spoke to himself while Victini and Pikachu watched with curiosity, "Ok, so am I supposed to put the bread on the pan first?"

Victini and Pikachu sighed when they heard Ash, wondering if they were actually going to eat it tonight. "Not exactly," a voice said and giggled. They all looked to the right and saw May standing in front of them; she was spotless and had traces of dirt or smudges.

Ash felt himself heating up when he saw May, he wasn't sure if it was the fire or the way she looked with her tank top and her sparkly clean appearance, he couldn't stop staring at her from head to toe, but when he realized what he was doing, he shook the thought off. The auburn-eyed teen felt humiliated inside for thinking of May in that way, it wasn't like him, but he still couldn't ignore the fact that May was extra cute tonight.

May couldn't help but giggle when she saw how dumbstruck Ash was when he saw her; _I knew this would happen, _the girl smiled at herself. She decided to snap him out of his trance and said, "That's not how you start Ash," the girl sighed and grinned at him.

Ash let out a deep breath and gave her a sheepish smile, "Then how do you start?"

"Let me help you," May walked over to him, causing Ash to stand up. "First you're supposed to butter one side of each slice of bread, we have butter and a knife right?"

"I think sooo…" Ash smiled nervously, not sure if they did.

"Pika pika," Pikachu called out.

"Vi victini," Victini also called out.

They both looked down and saw Pikachu holding a knife and Victini holding the butter. "Oh good," May received the items and grinned.

Ash let out a sigh of relief and smiled at May. The sapphire-eyed girl then continued speaking, "Anyway, you place the butter and then you put the side that's buttered face down so the heat can melt and give the bread a good taste."

"How could I forget that?" Ash laughed nervously, knowing how important that step was.

May smiled, "Don't worry Ash, you're not use to this kind of stuff, but we'll make the sandwiches together," the girl winked at him.

Ash turned slightly red, embarrassed at his stupidity when it came to cooking and May's suggestion, but he knew it could be fun, "Alright," the messy-haired teen grinned.

"I'll put the butter on the bread, why don't you handle the stuff on the pan," May recommended and Ash nodded in agreement.

"Pikapi," Pikachu called out to the teens one more time. Ash and May looked down and saw a spatula in his paws.

"Oh yeah, you'll need a spatula to do the heating up stuff with the bread," the brunette told Ash.

"Even Pikachu knows more about cooking," Ash murmured in disappointment and received the spatula from his friend.

May pecked his lips to cheer him up, knowing Ash felt bad for his lack of knowledge on cooking, "You'll remember it next time Ash, it's just practice, like a Pokémon battle," the girl smiled, using the concept of something Ash was familiar with to help him.

May's encouragement made the boy smile and shoved his spatula in the air, "Well then, let's get cooking!"

Victini, Pikachu, and May laughed at Ash's behavior, but they were glad at how quickly he regained his spirit from one kiss and a few words. May fetched a plate for the bread and began buttering the slices as she sat near the fire while Ash opened the containers with sliced cheese and ham.

"May, there aren't enough sandwiches for everyone to have two each, so I agreed on each of us having one sandwich with Pikachu," the boy said as he got placed the covers of the containers on the floor.

"No problem, you and I have big appetites, but tonight we'll be willing to let it go so the rest of our Pokémon can eat," May didn't mind the lack of food there was for her and Ash, bringing her Pokémon into consideration and feeding them was more important.

"At least we don't have any Pokémon that are fully-evolved aside from Liepard, that would probably give us a problem or if we had Munchlax or Snorlax with us," Ash said, smiling when he mentioned Munchlax and Snorlax, remembering the problem those two Pokémon gave their respective trainers when it came to food.

"That would've been a big problem," May grinned, reminiscing of her Normal-type companion, she had to be honest; she did miss him at times. When she finished buttering two slices of bread, she told Ash, "Two buttered slices are ready Ash; you should probably get them on that pan."

"Coming right up," Ash grinned as he brought all the supplies closer to the fire and got next to May. He extended the pan out so May could put the bread and like she instructed earlier, she put the buttered sides facing down. Ash then proceeded to placing ham and cheese on the non-buttered side of the bread and after that he placed the pan over the fire and the sounds of the butter sizzling could be heard.

"Doing this won't take too long, we'll be done soon," May told Ash.

"I hope so, because the smell of that butter is making me hungry," Ash said and the two laughed, they were probably the ones who were starving the most in all honesty.

After a few minutes, May instructed him, "Time to place the other bread on top of the sandwich."

"Ok," Ash said and placed the slice of bread with no ham and cheese on top of the slice that did.

"And it's ready," May clasped her hands together and admired the sandwich.

"Great," Ash smiled and placed his spatula under the sandwich and placed it on the plate May had brought. "That's one down," Ash cheered.

"And some more to go," May grinned and they quickly continued cooking.

After repeating the steps numerous times, they were halfway through the bag of bread. "You aren't bad at this Ash; you basically have the hang of it. I bet all these sandwiches will taste amazing once we're done," May complimented him while slithering butter on the white bread.

"Thanks May, but I don't think it'll be that good," Ash grinned her, showing his usual modest attitude.

"Whatever you say Ash, but I can barely stop myself from getting one of the sandwiches right now," May looked at the stack of sandwiches on the plate, she could hardly control her stomach from making her run over to the plate and it eat all. Ash also had a similar issue; his eyes had a difficult time focusing on the pan since it kept motioning towards the stack of sandwiches.

After getting bored from watching them play, Victini and Pikachu had begun playing. Victini had the task of trying to touch Pikachu's tail and when he did that, Victini would win, but Pikachu was no average mouse, his amazing speed allowed him to avoid Victini multiple times, but the Fire-type only became more determined to touch Pikachu's tail. They were both having a fun time.

"Pika!" Pikachu narrowly moved his tail from Victini.

"V!" Victini made a U-turn and narrowly missed Pikachu's tail.

"Pi!" Pikachu leaped to the right as Victini made another U-turn and the process was repeated multiple times.

"Victini!" Shot straight at the tail full speed, but Pikachu made a 360 spin and caused the Fire-type to miss.

"Pi," Pikachu smiled at Victini, encouraging it to keep going, each time he was getting closer.

"Vi!" Victini grinned and charged at Pikachu again.

"Those two are having a blast aren't they?" Ash had taken notice of the two Pokémon.

"It's cute, I haven't seen Pikachu play like this in a while," May commented as she gazed at the Pokémon.

"Me neither, he's always been playful with other Pokémon, but I rarely see him have this much fun," Ash added, "I've only seen him play this way with Togepi, a Larvitar I knew, and your Glaceon."

May listened to Ash intently and grinned, coming to a conclusion, "You know Ash; I think this Victini is actually a baby."

Ash turned to May with a puzzled look and asked, "How do you know May?"

"From experience with Eevee and Manaphy; Victini shows the same characteristics as Eevee and Manaphy when they were just born. They enjoy playing a lot and the way Pikachu treats Victini implies that it's only a newborn and the fact that it's so close to us might be more than just because we saved its life, but because we were the first affectionate things it saw, it thinks we're its parents," May went into detail with her explanation.

Ash smiled at May and thought about her talent for being a maternal figure for newborn Pokémon and he couldn't help but say, "You're going to make a great mother one day May."

The comment caused May to blushed and look down at the ground with a sheepish grin. "Well I think you'll be a great father Ash, considering the way you treat your Pokémon, I can only imagine how you'll treat our children," the brunette commented about him.

Now it was Ash's turn to blush, at first only a hint of red appeared on his face, but when he heard "our" he almost wanted to blast off into the sky. "Our?" Ash became tense and laughed nervously.

May giggled and lifted her head, grinning at him, "Just kidding Ash, but I still believe you would make a great dad."

Ash let out a sigh of relief and laughed, smiling at the girl as he cooked the last sandwich. When it finished he told May, "That was the last sandwich, time to get out the Pokémon,"

May nodded and reached for Pokéballs. "Pikachu, Victini, time to eat," Ash called the two Pokémon and they stopped their game to have some food because after so much playing around, even they had built up an appetite.

"Everyone, come on out!' Ash and May declared when they threw their Pokéballs in the air. From them, a white light shot out and Oshawott, Snivy, Blaziken, Liepard, and the other Pokémon came out. When Victini saw the large group of Pokémon it quickly moved behind Ash and May and stared at the other Pokémon.

"Osha," "Sni," "Blaz," "Lie," "Tepig!" the Pokémon cried out with joy when they saw their trainers, happy to see them again after a long day.

"Hey guys, time for you to eat," Ash grinned at them and revealed the stack of sandwiches.

"Hope you like it, we made it ourselves," May smiled at them, but then said something else, "Sadly, you can only have one sandwich each and we don't have enough stuff to make more," the brunette sighed and showed an empty bag of bread and a pair of empty containers.

All the Pokémon nodded at May and Pikachu jumped in front of them saying, "Pi pikapi pikachu!"

"It seems like they don't mind May," Ash grinned and crossed his arms.

"Blaziken blaz," Blaziken looked around the area and then turned back to the human duo. Soon the other Pokémon began to look around as well and had baffled faces on.

"Bet you're all wondering where Iris and Cilan are huh?" Ash let out a deep breath and they all shook their heads.

"Well, something happened in Castelia, the city got attacked by Team Rocket, Team Neo Plasma, and the Majestic 12. We defended it with Iris, Cilan, and other friends and the battle against those guys moved to an island near Castelia City, where they tried to capture this little guy," May explained to the Pokémon and revealed Victini to the group by moving away her leg.

"One of the members tried to take Victini, but we defeated him and he tried to blow up the building. It was thanks to Victini that we survived, it teleported us to this place, and even though we got separated from our friends, now we're going to Virbank City and try to contact them from there," Ash added to what May said as the Pokémon stared at the nervous Victini, who peeked behind May and Ash's legs since they stood next to each other.

Liepard and Pikachu included some other details like who exactly tried to take Victini since they were the only Pokémon that combated with Ash and May against the threat. In the end though,

"Now that we told you what happened though, we'd like you guys to meet Victini," May moved her leg away again to show Victini.

The Pokémon all grinned they saw the little Fire-type, the Tepig pair especially tried to approach Victini, but the Victory Pokémon was clearly nervous. "Vi victini," Victini began to fly and hid behind Ash's head, peeking down at the fire pigs that became confused by its attitude.

"It's a little shy. Victini is just a baby and the only ones its comfortable around right now is May, Pikachu, Liepard, and me," Ash smiled sheepishly and moved his head slightly to see Victini.

"Just give it some time and it'll start to get comfortable around you," May told the Pokémon.

They all nodded and just grinned at the Psychic-type Pokémon. May walked over to the stack of sandwiches and handed one to each Pokémon, "Enjoy," the sapphire-eyed girl smiled.

They all began eating the sandwiches with delight. Oshawott, Snivy, both Tepigs, Pikachu, Deerling, Petilil, and Scraggy all sat together near the fire and began talking with each other. Liepard and Tranquill decided to stay with Blaziken, Blaziken and Liepard calmly ate their sandwiches while lying against a tree trunk and Tranquil was perched on a tree branch.

Victini sat near Ash and May, who were just a little farther away from the fireplace than Pikachu and the others. The couple finished their sandwiches in three bites, and they became disappointed when they finished, nevertheless, both enjoyed their sandwiches.

"That was a great sandwich Ash, I couldn't have done it better myself," May rubbed her hands repeatedly and made any crumbs on her hands fall.

"You helped too May, but yeah, I didn't expect them to taste as good as it did. For someone who doesn't know much about cooking, it came out well." Ash savored the taste of the sandwich in his mind and smiled to no one in particular.

"It wasn't enough to fill us up, but it'll keep our energy up till the morning," May said while grinning up at the sky after eating.

"I should ask Brock or Cilan one day for some tips on cooking. Bet if I had actually paid attention when they cooked, the sandwich would've come out better or I could've come up with something more filling or delicious," The auburn-eyed teen stated.

May giggled and replied, "Don't worry, you'll get the whole cooking stuff one day, just like you were able to learn things about Pokémon and battling."

"I guess you're right, thanks May," Ash looked up at the sky and grinned.

Some minutes later, after staring at the night sky and full moon, the pair gazed down and saw that most of the Pokémon had already finished their sandwiches and were asleep. "Looks like everybody's already hit the sack," Ash noticed when he saw Pikachu and the other Pokémon were curled up or lying down, sleeping peacefully.

"All but one," May said when she noticed Victini just a few feet away, still eating its sandwich.

"Vi," Victini began to hover over to Ash and May with its sandwich. "Victini v vi," Victini got between Ash and May and sat down, grinning happily at both of them.

"How come you still haven't finished Victini?" Ash asked the little Pokémon.

"Vi v," Victini took a small bite of the sandwich that was over half his size.

"I guess it's too much for the little guy, it's only a baby," May believed.

Victini prepared to take a bite until something interrupted his eating, the sound of Ash and May's stomachs grumbling. "Vi?" the Victory Pokémon looked at both of them.

The pair laughed nervously and held their stomachs. "My mind says I'm good for tonight, but my stomach says the opposite," May had a hint of red on her face and continued to giggle.

"You're telling me," Ash chuckled uneasily and continued to hold his stomach.

"Victini vi!" Victini stretched its small arm out to Ash, giving the raven-haired teen his sandwich.

Ash raised his eyebrow when he Victini did that and asked, "You sure about that Victini?"

"V!" Victini shook its head up and down.

Ash let out a deep breath and smiled, "Thanks Victini." The auburn-eyed teen then took a piece from the sandwich and began to eat it.

Victini then motioned his sandwich to May and spoke cheerfully, "Vi victini!"

May sighed and giggled, "Alright Victini, thank you." May took a piece from Victini's sandwich and ate it.

They each ate a third of the sandwich and just gazed at each other, chewing and smiling. When Victini reached the last morsel it joyfully shoved it into its mouth, "Victini vi vi!" and chewed cheerfully.

Ash and May also ate their pieces and thanked Victini one last time. "Vi!" Victini began to hover and rubbed its cheeks against both trainers, making them smile.

Suddenly, Victini stopped flying around and began to yawn. May smiled and spoke, "Looks like it's time for us to go to sleep too."

Ash stood up and yawned, "I think so too, after a hard day we've all earned ourselves a good sleep."

Victini's eyes became heavy and hovered over to May and slowly let itself drop into the brunette's arms. May grinned down at Victini and cradled it, "It's so cute," the sapphire-eyed girl cradled it and then looked at Ash, smiling.

"Let's leave it sleeping with the other Pokémon," Ash recommended while grinning and the brunette agreed.

They walked over to Pikachu and May slowly put Victini down, next to Pikachu, but the moment the Victory Pokémon was free from May's arms, it started to shake uncomfortably and tears formed on the corners of its eyes. "Vi vi v," Victini groaned and got into fetal position, the tears still at the corner of its eyes.

"Something tells me it wants to be with us," Ash started to believe.

May let out a deep breath and grinned softly at the baby Fire-type. She kneeled down and picked up the Victory Pokémon, the brunette put her arms around the newborn. The embrace somehow managed to calm Victini's behavior and the tears from its eyes vanished and it rubbed itself against May's chest, feeling warmth as it pressed up against her.

"V…" Victini placed its head on May's chest and felt something soft like a pillow and the Pokémon went into a deep sleep as it made itself comfortable. May couldn't help but blush at the baby's actions and just smiled softly down at the little one.

"Told you," Ash crossed his arms and looked at Victini, smiling at the little creature. The way May held and cradled Victini provoked Ash to picture the brunette as a mother, in his mind though, Victini was replaced by an actual baby.

May seemed happy as she cradled the infant and Ash's smile only got bigger; the fact that May was good at being a maternal figure just made happy. The coordinator clearly had a knack for this.

May also let her motherly instincts come out while she held Victini; it was a feeling she only felt twice before, with Eevee and Manaphy. The sensation made her feel blissful, she held Victini up against her a bit more and she never wanted to let go of it, it was like her baby and her arms were protecting it.

"Time to sleep," Ash's voice broke her train of thought and May saw Ash standing next to two sleeping bags, one blue and the other pink.

As May cradled Victini, she asked, "Ash, aren't you going to shower though?"

"I think it's too late now, I'll do it first thing in the morning," Ash explained to her as he adjusted the sleeping bags and left them close to the fire. "There," the boy grinned and slipped off his shoes and took off his dirty hoodie.

May raised an eyebrow and inquired, "Are you going to sleep with your jeans on?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't be the first time. Besides, I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing just my shirt and boxers with only the two of us around," Ash explained to her with his arms crossed.

May began to flutter her eyelids, "Are you worried we might take it there tonight, Ash?"

Ash's face became as red as a Tamato Berry and the boy frowned, "No May, I just think it'd be inappropriate."

The brunette giggled and winked at Ash, "Don't worry Ash; I think it'd be kind of inappropriate too. I'm going to sleep with these clothes on tonight. Can you do me a favor though?" The sapphire-eyed girl asked.

"Sure May," Ash grinned, having gained his composure after May's comment.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" May questioned him.

Ash almost turned as stiff as a stone, this would be the first time they'd be sleeping together without anyone's supervision. In Pallet Town, his mother was there and on their way to Unova, they slept on separate beds.

"I-I-I," Ash was too uncertain to answer.

"Please Ash," May put on her puppy face while still holding onto Victini.

Her charming sapphire eyes and the puppy face were enough to get Ash to surrender though and the next moment he found himself letting out a deep breath and saying, "Alright May, but why?"

May grinned when she heard Ash's response and replied, "After everything that happened I would feel safer next to you, because I know you'd be protecting me."

Ash sighed and smiled, she was right though, the auburn-eyed teen would always look over her and protect her from anything and in all honesty, he'd feel more reassured if she was in his arms. "Ok May, we can sleep together."

May walked closer to Ash and pecked him on the cheek, "Thank you Ash," the brunette gave him a sweet smile. Ash only nodded and they then proceeded to slipping inside Ash's sleeping bag, which was actually big enough for two lovers and a Victini.

They gently slipped in and got themselves comfortable while Victini was placed between the two teens. When they finally settled, they looked at the Fire-type and saw how big its smile was, the Legendary Pokémon had never felt so safe and sound and it rubbed itself against both trainers' chests affectionately.

"How adorable," May said softly and pushed Victini a little closer to her, leaving her hand on top of Victini's head and rubbing it.

Ash smiled and placed his hand on top of May's, caressing it while the brunette grinned at him. "How long do they you think it'll stay with us?" Ash looked down at Victini for a second, but then turned back to May.

"I hope it's for some time, I've already grown fond of it," May looked down at and kissed its small head.

The raven-haired teen smiled once more and moved his hand from May's hand to her hair and began to stroke it gently. May returned the gesture and grinned, stroking Ash's hair with her hand gently. Ash's touch couldn't have been more comforting than it was right now.

"Good night Ash," May said and flashed one last smile at him.

Ash slowly leaned in and kissed her forehead, "Good night May," the boy said. After that, the two gradually fell asleep while gazing and embracing each other, with Victini between them, who just grinned happily as it, slept.

**That was it for this chapter, much longer than I intended. I'm going to start focusing on the length of these chapters because it's getting pretty out of hand; however, I hoped you guys all enjoyed it nonetheless. Stick around for Chapter 24 and remember to REVIEW, PM, ETC, I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions regarding this chapter. Keep in mind, this chapter's purpose was to refocus on Ash and May's romance rather than the actual plot since it's been a while since I posted a chapter like that. Hope you also liked the other short ffs I posted up these past weeks, I'm especially proud of Dying Inside, which was my favorite. If you haven't checked any of those out, you should and remember to REVIEW, PM, or anything like that. Until next time guys! **


	24. Nightmare on Route 20

Chapter 24: Dreamscape

After bathing in the lake, Ash was drying his hair with the towel and gazed up at the blue sky with a bright smile. When he finished drying his hair, he looked down at his friend with a smile. "A brand new day and fresh start," Ash smiled, glad that for once in a while, he hadn't woken up to Iris's screams.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. The mouse was also drying himself by shaking off the water from his fur and grinned up at Ash.

He put the towel around his neck and began walking back to the campsite, "Let's go pal, we have to wake up May and Victini, we need to get to Virbank before nightfall," Ash informed the mouse, who nodded. Ash took one last look of the serene scene behind him, a crystal clear lake surrounded by a lush green forest, which stood beneath a gleaming and powerful sun. The black-haired teen grinned and advanced with his best friend.

When he got back he raised an eyebrow in surprise, the campsite was gone, except for the black-stained wood for the fire. "May, I didn't expect you to be and ready," the auburn-eyed teen said.

May placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, "Well I don't sleep till too late Ash. I am not a Snorlax."

The raven-haired teen chuckled and motioned his hands back and forth in front of him, "Relax May. I am just glad to see you up and dressed. You even returned all the Pokémon back into their Pokéballs." Ash stated while grinning.

"I couldn't have gotten ready so quick without the help of-," May was about to say, but then got interrupted by small creature that popped up behind her.

"Victini!" the Victory Pokémon charged at Ash and hugged him happily.

"Hey little guy, glad to see you up too, thanks for helping May get ready," Ash hugged the little one and smiled at it.

"You know Ash, I picked up those habits of being up and ready from you when we traveled in Hoenn and Kanto. And Since Cilan and Iris aren't here, I figured you'd need my help with putting everything away too," the brunette said to the boy, "And thanks again for your help Victini," May turned her attention to the small Fire-type in Ash's arms and winked.

"V!" Victini smiled and hover over to her and hugged her waist affectionately.

Pikachu then climbed onto Ash's shoulder and smiled at the sight, Ash also found the scene adorable, but they had to get moving now, "We should get going now, Virbank City shouldn't be far now."

Victini stopped hugging May and floated onto her shoulder and sat there. May grinned and nodded, "Right, I want to get there as soon as possible."

Ash walked over to May and they took a glance at each other and began walking. May then unexpectedly grabbed Ash's hand and held it. Ash only smiled at her affection and held onto her hand as well while Victini and Pikachu gazed at the road ahead.

From the position of the sun, Pikachu could tell that it would be noon in just a few hours and like Ash and May, Pikachu was eager to reach the city. It may have only been one day since they lost contact with civilization, but for Pikachu it felt like they had survived in the forest for ages and all he wanted was to reach society like his friends, besides, he was also eager to catch up with Iris, Cilan, and Axew.

Victini rubbed his cheek against May and the sapphire-eyed girl grinned at his affection. Victini's affection towards them inevitably reminded her of another creature with a similar attitude, "Ash, Victini reminds me a lot of Manaphy."

"Like you said May, Victini is a baby and like Manaphy at the time, it's treating you this way because it probably views you as its mother. The liking it's taken towards you is as strong as when Manaphy first met you," the auburn-eyed teen explained why May reminisced so much of the Legendary Water-type.

"Like Manaphy and that Larvitar you told me about, Victini also seems fond of you Ash; it thinks you're its father. The amount of affection it has towards you is probably as much as the affection it shows towards me," May pointed out something Ash hadn't mentioned.

Ash couldn't help but turn light red when May pointed it out and showed a gentle smile, remembering how even he served as a parent-figure for some Pokémon in the past; including the Larvitar he met in Johto. "Guess we're its parents."

May smiled softly when he saw Ash's face and spoke, "And like any other parents. We have to look out for this baby like if it were our own." When May said that she turned her head to the left and stared at Victini with a smile on her face, she then rubbed her cheek gently against it.

"Vi vi," Victini grinned cheerfully, enjoying the fondness its 'mother' was showing.

"Yeah, definitely a great mother," Ash muttered to himself while staring at the pair with Pikachu.

All of a sudden, the sweet moment stopped when the sound of leaves rustling was heard. The group instantly stopped walking and searched around the area for signs of anyone or anything there.

Ash and May pressed up against each other and analyzed the area for a while, but the rustling eventually stopped and after a few more minutes, the pair sighed in relief and put their guard down.

Pikachu and Victini looked all over with confused expressions; even they failed to determine the source of where the rustling had been coming from. When the pair began walking, May mentioned something, "You know Ash, I can't ignore the feeling that there's more to this forest than we think. It's pretty strange if you ask me," the brown-haired coordinator stated, remembering the illusion she saw at the lake last night.

"I agree. There's something fishy about all this. Last night while setting up camp, I saw something lurking among the trees, it looked like the projection of some kind of Pokémon, but I couldn't really identify it," Ash mentioned his sighting from last night, something that had been on his mind for since the moment he saw it.

May's eyes grew bigger when she heard what Ash and figured she should also tell him what she saw, "Actually yeah, last night while I was at the lake, I saw something hovering above the water and it looked like a Pokémon I had seen before. What Pokémon though, I'm not sure, I also had a hard time trying tell what it was. I thought I was seeing things," the sapphire-eyed girl admitted.

Ash raised his eyebrows and gazed down at the ground, "Well it certainly is strange, but I guess we can't do much about. Hopefully we won't run into something as strange as that on the way to Virbank City."

"Me too, we're better off forgetting about it," May replied to Ash and they both nodded.

"V vi," Victini said, catching the pair's attention.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu also said to get the couple's attention.

"Huh, what's going on guys?" Ash looked at Pikachu and then Victini.

"I think I know Ash," May pulled on Ash's arm while still holding to his arm and looked around the forest.

Ash followed her gaze and saw that the area was becoming foggy. The auburn-eyed teen sighed and spoke, "Great, fog."

Victini's eyes became wide and it hovered behind Ash's head in fear and peeked around the zone, trying to understand what was going on. "Don't worry Victini, this isn't the first time we've been in this kind of predicament," Ash turned around to assure it that everything was going to be alright.

"I don't know Ash, this fog doesn't seem friendly, remember the last time this happened," May held on to Ash's hand tighter and had a concerned look while Pikachu became stern and observant.

The couple and Pikachu clearly remembered the last time random fog appeared, it was because of the Majestic 12 member, Cloud. Remembering the incident with Cloud and how their Pokémon got injured, the group braced themselves for the worst.

"Lit…," said a disturbing voice that alarmed the group of four.

"What was that?" May looked around anxiously as the fog began to cover up the entire forest. She could only see as far as six feet in front of her.

"Wick…" another disturbing voice said.

Ash frowned and squeezed on May's hand while Pikachu prepared to leap off Ash's shoulder and battle. Victini kept hiding behind Ash's head and examined the area frantically. "Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good," Ash gritted his teeth, trying to see through the dense fog.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu pointed in front of Ash and the rest of the group turned its eye to where Pikachu pointed at.

Their eyes all focused on the small shimmer of light coming at them, it noticeably grew bigger as they stared, as if the light were approaching. "What's that?" May glared at the approaching light.

"I'm not sure, Pikachu, be ready for anything," Ash ordered and Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder, getting into a battling stance.

When the light was close enough, a small figure was revealed. It resembled a candle and it had a small purple flame on the top of its head, "Litwick," the Pokémon smiled when it saw the group.

Ash, May, and Pikachu raised an eyebrow when they saw the small and adorable-looking Pokémon. "Is this the little guy who caused the fog nearly made my spine come out of my back," May was relieved when she saw Litwick and let out a deep breath.

"Looks like it, we were afraid for nothing," Ash smiled and let his guard down.

"Lit," Litwick just stood in front of them, grinning innocently.

"Vi," Victini took a peek at the Pokémon, but it still looked scared from the look in its eyes.

"No need to be afraid Victini, it doesn't look like it'll hurt us," Ash assured the small Fire-type, but Victini wasn't convinced.

May reached for her Pokédex and spoke, "I wonder what Pokémon it is," the brunette wondered.

When the Pokédex's screen lit up, the small Pokémon appeared. "Litwick, the Candle Pokémon. Litwick appear to be helping to guide the way of people by illuminating areas that are darkened, but in reality they are actually leading them to the Ghost World. They feed off the life energy of people and Pokémon, and use it as fuel for the flames on their heads," the robotic voice of the Pokédex stated.

May returned her Pokédex and said, "For a cute Pokémon, it sure sounds creepy."

"Well it is a Ghost Pokémon," Ash smiled, disregarding what the Pokédex said.

Ash walked over to Litwick and kneeled down. Ash smiled at it and spoke, "Hey there little guy, nice to meet you."

"Wick lit," Litwick grinned at Ash and extended its hand.

"It seems pretty friendly," May stated, observing the interaction between Ash and Litwick.

Ash and Litwick shook hands, but suddenly the look in Litwick's eyes changed to devious ones. "Litwick," the Pokémon said its name with an evil tone and all of a sudden, a dozen Litwick surrounded the group, forming a circle.

"What's going on?" May became alert when she saw the other Litwick pop up, they all had sinister gazes.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu got its guard back up and threatened to shock the devious Litwick if they harmed them.

"Victini," Victini hid behind May's head and hugged it out of fear.

"Litwick!" the Pokémon pulled its arm back and yelled. Behind each Litwick shot out a small blue orb.

Ash and May got caught off guard as the orb encircled them. "Huh?" the couple said simultaneously and the next second they found themselves dropping to the ground and closing their eyes.

Pikachu also experienced the same and fell to the ground while Victini barely managed to dodge the Litwick. The frightened Victory Pokémon saw the group of Litwick approaching it and it helplessly tried to awaken its parents, tears forming in its eyes, the Pokémon cried, "Victini v vi."

"Wick," the Litwick smirked as they neared the Fire-type.

Victini's tears began to stream down its cheeks and as the Litwick approached them, the Psychic-type began to feel a sense of hopelessness until it felt an energy surge inside it and the Pokémon glared at the Litwick.

The tears on Victini's cheeks and eyes evaporated, "Vi victini," the Pokémon glared and the last thing the Litwick saw was a red aura surrounding the Legendary Pokémon.

* * *

Ash slowly lifted his eyelids and rubbed his eyes with his hand. He gazed up at the black sky, which lacked a moon and stars. He immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes a bit more. "It feels like I got stomped on my Tauros, what happened?" Ash examined the area, he was still in the dark forest, but strangely enough, the forest was illuminated like if there were actual moonlight.

The raven-haired teen got up and looked around the area, "Where's May, Pikachu, and Victini. Last thing I remember was we got attacked by Litwick." He clenched his fist and analyzed the zone carefully; he eventually gave up and sighed, "Looks like they're missing."

He walked around the area and looked behind the bushes and trees, hoping he would find them. He let out a deep breath and spoke, "I hope they're alright. If I know Pikachu, he'll protect May and Victini at any cost. The only thing I can do now is try to find them."

The auburn-eyed teen looked at the forest ahead of him and said something else, "It may already be nighttime, but I'm sure I can still find them. This is probably the billionth time this has happened; the only thing I should worry about is their safety."

_Don't worry guys, I'm coming, _Ash thought in his mind. After that quick thought, the boy dashed off into the woods in frantic search for his friends and lover. As he ran and motioned his eyes in all directions of the forest the boy could only think to himself, _I wonder if Litwick took them. _

The idea of the Litwick hurting May, Pikachu, and Victini disturbed his mind. He wouldn't allow that to happen, not on his watch, but the search was becoming futile in his mind. After several more minutes of searching, an idea struck his head. He reached for two Pokeballs and held them in his hand, "I know! I'll use Tranquil and Tepig to help me find them. Tranquil may not have the same quality vision like a Noctowl when it comes to flying over a dark forest in the middle of the night, but I'm sure it'll still help and Tepig can probably illuminate this forest a bit more with its flames."

He tapped on the buttons of his Pokéballs, but for some odd reason, they wouldn't increase to their regular size. Ash frowned and examined them, "That's odd, they should be working. May used them this morning to return the Pokémon, it's not right for it to suddenly stop working," the boy muttered.

A few seconds later, Ash became frustrated and murmured, "This isn't good. If I can't use Tranquil or Tepig, it'll take me forever to find May and the others. I wonder if the other Pokéballs work." The raven-haired teen reached for his other Pokéballs and pressed the button on each of them, but none of them would work.

_Looks like I'm on my own, _Ash sighed and returned his Pokéballs. _Once this is over I'll have to find out why my Pokéballs aren't working, _the raven-haired teen thought in his mind.

He examined the area once more, the leaves, trunks, bushes and darkness would make it hard to find his friends. Ash began to walk slowly, hoping that if he looked around more carefully, he'd find them. All of a sudden though, he heard a familiar voice call out to him, "Ash…"

Ash became alert and frowned towards the direction it came from, which was his right. "That voice…" Ash muttered and stood still to see if he could listen to it more closely.

"Ash…" the voice called out.

Ash's eyes became wide and the auburn-eyed teen recognized it. He then ran in the direction of the source and muttered, "May, I'm coming, hold on." Ash charged at full speed through the forest, hoping to reach May.

As he got closer, the calling of his name became clearer and Ash couldn't help but smile at the fact of reuniting with the girl he had been so worried about, with any luck, Pikachu and Victini would be with her.

"Ash…" May's voice called to him.

"May, don't worry I'm on my way!" Ash shouted and then saw clearing where they were no trees, no bushes, just plain grass. Ash dashed out of the forest and found himself standing there and in front of him was May.

She had her back turned to him and Ash simply smiled when he saw. The boy slowly walked over to her and said, "May…it's me. Are you alright?" the boy approached her and touched her shoulder.

His touch caused May to turn around and there he saw the brunette with a frightened gaze. "I'm fine, now that you're here," May's face turned from frightened to a mischievous, happy one. Ash had never seen that sort of happy expression on her face though; it was a very strange one since he had never seen it before.

The brunette hugged him and Ash embraced, "I'm glad, May. But have you seen Pikachu and Victini?" the auburn-eyed teen asked her, looking down at the brunette.

May lifted her head up and gazed at him, "No I haven't, I woke up and found myself here. I became worried when I saw that all of you were missing and all I could do was call out for you, hoping you'd find me," the girl had her frightened look on again.

"Don't worry May, I'm here now, and we'll find Pikachu and Victini," Ash reassured her and continued to hug her.

May smirked and pulled Ash closer to her, they instantly locked lips. Ash got caught off guard, but the touch of May's lips caused him to surrender to her and he placed his hands on her waist.

The next moment, he felt May's arms wrapped around his neck and she let her tongue into his mouth. This also caught Ash off guard, but he eventually let the girl in and let their moment continue where they ended up playing with their tongues. The sensation of the kiss was different from any other Ash had received from her though, this was one was more passionate but in a rougher way. The brunette continued to aggressively kiss and she pressed up against him, she got so close that Ash could feel her chest pressing up against him and the boy couldn't help but blush because of her actions.

Taking a quick pause to breathe, the boy took a few deep breaths while May continued to press up against him. Ash flashed a sheepish smile and said, "I'd like to continue this May, but we have a Pikachu and Victini to find."

May giggled and smirked at him, "They're fine Ash, I'm sure of it. Pikachu is one of the strongest Pokémon I know and Victini is a Legendary Pokémon. They are able to handle anything in this forest without breaking a sweat and before you know it, they'll be here interrupting our little moment."

Ash sighed and flashed a weak smile, "I guess, bu-," before he could finish, May placed her index finger on his lips.

May gave Ash a seductive gaze, a gaze he had never seen. "Just relax, nothing is going to happen," the girl said and pulled the boy by his collar and kissed him once again.

The raven-haired teen got caught off guard, but this time he was starting to get annoyed with her actions. He could hear May unzipping his hoodie and taking it off. She then grabbed his hands as she kissed him and forced Ash to take off her sleeveless thin white jacket. The next thing she did was take off his hat and threw it towards the grass.

May separated from him for a second and gave him a mischievous grin, "Time for the next part," the girl smirked.

"May sto-," but he got cut off again and the next thing he felt was May pushing him towards the ground and she got on top of him in a position he wasn't exactly comfortable with.

"Do you mind seeing what's underneath this?" the sapphire-eyed girl referred to her black shirt.

"What?" Ash frowned, confused by what she was saying.

"I'm sure you'd like to see more than my belly button and cleavage, right?" May continued to grin mischievously and winked at him.

Ash glared at her, but his face turned red and the next second he found May halfway from taking off her shirt completely, but before she could finish, Ash pushed her off and got up.

"Ash, what's the big idea, I thought you loved me?" May glared at him, she lowered her shirt and stood up.

Ash glared at her and made a fist, "You're not May." The boy simply stated.

May became surprised by his words, but quickly regained her composure and gave a sinister smile and her sapphire eyes became cold, "What gave it away?" the brunette questioned with a devious tone.

As Ash placed his hoodie and hat back on, he spoke, "The real May wouldn't do something like that for no reason and out of the blue, especially at a moment like this. The real May wouldn't be so direct about stuff like that and instead of making love; she'd be worried about where Pikachu and Victini are. I know the real May, and you aren't it," the auburn-eyed teen glared at her.

"Clever boy," the fake May's voice became awfully frightening, becoming that of a demon.

"If you want to hide your identity better next time, I recommend you learn how they act. Even the way you kissed hinted at the fact that you weren't May, I was just too stupid to realize until just a few seconds ago," Ash frowned at the copy of May, not even frightened by the tone in May's voice and just kept clenching his fist as he looked at her.

"I rather ignore that comment," the false May gave Ash a sly smirk.

"Who are you?" Ash asked sternly.

"A ghost of many shapes, and the ruler of this realm, the Ghost World, welcome to my nightmare, Ash!" the figure yelled at Ash and smiled evilly.

Ash glared at the phony, acknowledging that it was a phantom or ghost who dwelled in what was apparently the Ghost World. The Pallet teen then spoke, "Well in that case. Get me out of your realm because I have to find some friends."

"Only after you battle me," the evil May revealed a Pokéball.

"Anything to get out of this nightmare," Ash reached for a Pokéball, disregarding the fact that none of them were working.

"This is more than just a dream; this is where you'll reside for all eternity. You'll never wake up and find yourself in the human world ever again," the phony May threw her Pokéball.

"Like I haven't heard that one before," Ash continued to stand his ground, but his eyes widened when he saw the Pokémon that emerged. "Pikachu…?" Ash asked when he saw that the Pokémon was none other than his best friend.

"Pikaaaaa," Pikachu glared at Ash and prepared to battle.

"Let's see how you fare against your friend, it won't be easy. You've trained him yourself," the false May crossed her arms and gave Ash a sinister look.

Ash tried to activate one of his Pokéballs, but they still refused to work, "None of my Pokéballs are working," the boy gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Well, that's too bad, you've already lost. Pikachu, Quick Attack now!" the phantom commanded.

Ash frowned and shouted at his partner, "Pikachu stop, it's me, Ash!"

Pikachu ignored Ash's words and charged at him full speed, sending Ash crashing towards the ground. Pikachu frowned at Ash as the boy slowly got up. "Pikachu, snap out of it, none of this real," Ash tried to get through to his friend.

"So smart, yet so stupid," the figure chuckled demonically. "If this isn't real, then how come you try to talk Pikachu as if it were your actual friend? The real Pikachu is probably in his own nightmare right now, being haunted by the other residents of the Ghost World and like you; he's trapped in this realm forever."

Ash got on his feet and grinded his teeth, "This Pikachu may just be the result of this twisted nightmare, but I have no choice but to get through it and try to stop it from attacking. I'm sure even the Ghost World has its own weakness and I'll figure it out soon enough."

"Foolish child," the false May smirked and said, "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

"Pikachu, stop this!" Ash yelled at it, but since Pikachu leapt up into the air and turned its tail into iron. Ash became forced to cover himself with his arms in an X-shape.

"Victini!" a familiar cry let out and a stream of fire shot at Pikachu, stopping the illusion of the real Pikachu from hitting Ash.

Ash lowered his arms and saw Victini in front of him, frowning at the phony May and Pikachu. "Victini, how'd you find me?" Ash inquired when he saw the Psychic-type.

"An uninvited guest has infiltrated your nightmare and the Ghost World. No matter, this Pikachu is based on the power of your own and should be more than enough to stop that meddlesome Fire-type," the demonic May remained confident.

"Guess we just found the Ghost World's weakness," Ash smirked.

"Vi," Victini grinned at Ash.

"I've never been happier to see you Victini. How about we crush these guys and find a way out?" the black-haired teen smiled at the Victory Pokémon.

Victini grinned confidently and turned to its opponents. The false May smirked and spoke, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Victini."

"Victini, dodge and use Flamethrower!" Ash extended his arm to the left.

"Piiikaaachuuu!" Pikachu cried out and released a stream of electricity at Victini.

Victini shot above to dodge the Thunderbolt, but it unexpectedly followed Victini upward, shocking Ash and Victini. The attack's greater speed allowed it to reach Victini and shot it down. "Victiniiiii," the Pokémon cried and hit the ground below, causing a loud thud.

"In this realm, it is much easier to defy physics," the phony May chuckled.

Ash glared at his opponent and looked at Victini, who slowly got up and frowned at Pikachu. "Looks like we'll have to fight with actual fire then, Victini, use Quick Attack!"

"Pikachu, do the same," the fake May ordered.

"V!" Victini cried and charged at Pikachu with full speed.

"Pikaaa!" Pikachu also charged forward.

They both glared at each other and charged at full power, but right before the collision, Ash made a command, "Victini, shoot upward and use Flamethrower!"

Pikachu and its trainer widened their eyes as they saw Victini shoot up and Pikachu just continued to advance. From above, Victini shot up and gazed down at Pikachu and unleashed a powerful stream of fire.

"Pikachu, make a u-turn and counter with Thunder!" the demonic May commanded.

Pikachu made a sharp u-turn, causing dust to rise and the Pokémon let out a furious blast of electricity. "Piiiiiiikaaaachuuuu!" the Pokémon cried out as the electricity aimed toward Victini.

It clashed with Flamethrower, but the much stronger Thunder easily overpowered it and blasted at Victini. The phony May smirk while Ash couldn't help but stare. Victini frowned and got forced to take different measures. Out of the blue, its eyes began to glow cerulean and so did the Thunder.

The blue aura around the Thunder forced it to stop while Victini's eyes continued to glow blue. The false May frowned and spoke, "Impossible, that Thunder should be too strong to be halted by a simple Confusion."

"Pikachu's strong, but it takes more than brawn to win a fight. It also takes strategy and willpower," Ash smiled at the ghost who took the form of his beloved.

"Victiniiiiiii!" the Pokémon shouted and blasted the Thunder back at Pikachu. The Electric-type got caught off guard by the attack and got blasted against a tree, receiving heavy damage from the attack in the process.

"Now finish this with a Searing Shot!" Ash instructed.

"Pikachu, counter with an Electro Ball!" the false May commanded.

Pikachu groaned as it got up, but it managed to get on its feet and flipped backward while shooting out an electric sphere from its tail, yelling "Pikaaa!" at the same time.

"Viiiiiiii," Victini glared and charged up enough fire in its body, which began to engulf it. Within seconds, it was ten times its size and launched it like a meteor at Pikachu. The Fire-type attack was easily superior to Electro Ball and destroyed it as it charged at Pikachu.

"Impossible!" the phony May shouted demonically as the Searing Shot crashed down on the ground and blasted Pikachu, capturing the mouse in its deadly inferno,

"Piiiiiiiii!" Pikachu cried out in pain as the fire coursed through its entire body and when the attack finally dispersed, Pikachu dropped to the ground unconscious.

Pikachu's body then suddenly disappeared into nothingness as the false May's eyes became dark black and felt herself vanishing into nothingness as well. "No, you troublesome brat, this isn't over. There's another ghost much stronger waiting for you at the end of this road. You'll be sorry when you meet it!" the demon cried as it began disappear. Its whole body began to fade away and in seconds it turned into black dust taken away by the wind.

Ash found himself staring at the trees again and grinned when he saw Victini hovering down towards. "Way to go Victini," Ash smiled at his friend.

"Vi vi!" Victini rushed over to Ash and hugged his head cheerfully.

"I'm glad you're alright too, but have you seen May or Pikachu around?" Ash said once Victini let go of him.

"V," Victini's face became sad and shook its head sideways.

"It's ok Victini, at least we're both safe now. The next thing we should do is find May and Pikachu and get out of here," Ash told the Fire-type.

"Vi," Victini nodded in agreement and smiled,

* * *

May rubbed her eyes as she sat up and saw Pikachu in her lap. "What's going on?" the brunette looked around the area and all she was the dark forest surrounding her, the dark sky had no moon or stars, but the forest managed to remain illuminated.

"Pi?" Pikachu slowly awakened and found itself in May's lap.

'What happened, Pikachu? Last I remember we got assaulted by Litwick. Where are Ash and Victini?" May questioned the mouse with a concerned look on her face, slowly regaining her composure after waking up.

"Pika," Pikachu jumped off May's lap and examined the area, seeing no sign of Ash or Victini around.

May got on her feet and took another look of the area; she placed her finger on her chin and had a worried look on, "You think the Litwick might have taken them?"

Pikachu frowned as he examined the area and tried to smell out his friends, but no luck. When he heard May's comment, he began to speak, "Pikapi pika pika pi pikachu pika." The mouse then gave May an assuring grin.

"You're right, I am sure Ash, can take care of Victini and himself. We've had worse experiences, like yesterday," May felt assured by Pikachu.

Pikachu grinned and climbed onto May's shoulder. "Pi," Pikachu grinned at the brunette.

"At least we're together, I feel much safer knowing you're here Pikachu," May scratched the back of Pikachu's ear, making the mouse coo happily.

After the brief exchange, May began to talk again, "Well we should get searching for Ash and Victini, I'm sure we won't be able to find them if we just stay here."

"Pika," Pikachu nodded and they walked into the deeper part of the forest in search for Victini and Ash. May and Pikachu searched beneath every rock, every hole in a trunk, every bush and were getting impatient with their lack of success. They had been very observant throughout the whole search for Ash and Victini.

They walked very slowly to detect any sign of Ash or Victini and even with Pikachu's Thundershock for illumination; they were still unable to find any sign of Ash around. The brunette sighed and looked at Pikachu, "At this rate we'll never find them Pikachu."

"Piiii…" Pikachu lowered his ears in disappointment.

Pikachu's saddened face caused May to give him a sympathetic look and the girl said, "Don't worry, we'll find them eventually. We just have to have hope."

"Pikachu," Pikachu grinned at May and her caring smile renewed his faith and the two agreed to give it another shot.

The search for Ash and Victini in such an empty forest shouldn't have been so hard, but this wasn't the case. Pikachu and May continued their frantic investigation, but they had no luck at all. It was tiresome and it seemed too futile to keep going.

"Pika," Pikachu pointed at a bush.

"Maybe behind here," May walked to the bush Pikachu pointed and looked behind it, but found nothing but the grass. "There's nothing here either, Pikachu," the brunette let out a deep breath.

"Pipika!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Huh? What is it Pikachu?" May turned back to the mouse with a puzzled expression.

"Pi pikachu pi!" Pikachu pointed in to the left of them.

"What makes you say that, Pikachu?" May inquired.

"Pipika pi," Pikachu sniffed the air and pointed to the left again.

"You smell him?" May asked and Pikachu nodded. A smile formed on the brunette's face and she said, "Great, lead the way Pikachu."

Pikachu nodded and dashed toward the source of the scent the mouse had detected. May followed close behind and the only thought that could reach her mind was, _don't worry Ash, Pikachu and I are coming for you. _The brunette couldn't help but smile, knowing she would be reunited with her lover excited her and hopefully, Ash would be with Victini as well.

Whenever she got separated from Ash, Max, or anyone who was special to her, May would always feel her worries surge out of control, but there was no bigger relief than the one when she would be reunited with one of them after being lost. When she came to a clearing she suddenly stopped with Pikachu and they both saw figure with its back turned to them, it was clearly Ash like Pikachu had believed.

She became disappointed at the fact that there was no sign of Victini; nevertheless, she was glad to see her boyfriend in tip-top shape. May walked a bit closer to Ash and spoke with a cheerful smile on her face, "Ash, it's me and Pikachu. We were so worried about you, are you ok?" the brunette asked with a soft voice.

The figure turned around, but May instantly stepped back when she saw the expression on his face. It was the coldest gaze she had ever seen in her life and it was a gaze Ash would never give his friends, especially May.

Pikachu quickly got into a defensive stance while May became frightened, but gained her composure and frowned. "Wait a second, you're not Ash. The Ash I know would never give his friends the kind of look you're giving now."

"Correct," the cold-hearted copy of Ash grinned evilly as he reached for a Pokéball.

"Who are you then?" May glared at the strange figure.

"I'm like you, an inhabitant of the Ghost World," the phony Ash's voice became demonic.

"Ghost World?" May raised an eyebrow.

"Bingo little girl, your nightmare has brought you to the Ghost World, your permanent home. I'm resident of this world, shape-shifting into any form I please, like your boyfriend," the false Ash chuckled,

"Permanent home?" May raised an eyebrow, but then frowned again, "If this is a nightmare, then I can easily wake up from it. I'm not going to stay trapped in a fantasy world like this one."

"Little girl, it won't be easy to wake yourself out of this one. First and foremost, you'll have to defeat me," the fake Ash smirked and threw the Pokéball in his hand to the ground.

"A Blaziken," May gasped when she saw the Pokémon that had emerged.

"That's right, let's see how well you know this Pokémon's abilities, you're in for a fiery nightmare," the phony Ash crossed its arms and chuckled.

May grinned confidently and looked at Pikachu. "Pi," Pikachu nodded and got between Blaziken and May.

"That rat wasn't meant to awaken with you; the other ghosts never were too bright when it came to capturing helpless victims," the demonic ghost stated.

"Where are Ash and Victini?" May glared at the figure.

"Being haunted by the illusions of this world, just like you're about to awaken into a true nightmare," the figure smirked. "Blaziken, use Blaze Kick!" the fake Ash ordered.

"Blaz," Blaziken charged at Pikachu with a fiery kick.

"You'll be sorry. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" May commanded.

"Pikachuuuu!" Pikachu released violent stream of electricity at Blaziken.

The phony Ash merely chuckled as Blaziken broke through the Thunderbolt and kicked Pikachu. Sending the Electric-type flying against the ground, crying in pain, "Pikaaaa!" the Pokémon shouted when it hit the ground.

"Pikachu!" May's eyes widened with surprise. She then turned to Blaziken and muttered, "But how?"

"If you didn't know, this Blaziken is actually an illusion of yours. All of its powers are based off the real one and if you didn't know another thing, Blaziken in reality, is vastly more powerful than Pikachu when used right," the demonic Ash stated and then chuckled.

May gritted her teeth as Pikachu got up, groaning from the pain. _What in the world am I dreaming, those Litwick must done something to cause such a nightmare, _the brunette thought in her mind.

"You've searched for Victini and your boy frantically with that Pikachu for a pretty long time, yet the only thing you managed to find, was your own demise," the evil copy of Ash smirked at May.

"Blaziken, Quick Attack on Pikachu now!" the illusion of Ash instructed.

"Pikachu, you use Quick Attack too!" May pointed at Blaziken when she made the command.

Pikachu and Blaziken braced themselves and charged at each other with full power. Pikachu and Blaziken glared at each other and when the collision was made, a sound wave was created causing the noise to echo across the forest.

For a moment, Pikachu and Blaziken remained in a standstill, until the phantom made another command, "Power up to a Flare Blitz."

Suddenly, Blaziken became engulfed in flames and lunged itself at Pikachu with enough power to send the mouse back crashing against a tree. "Piiiiikaaaa," Pikachu screamed in pain and dropped in the ground.

"Pikachu!" May shouted and rushed over to the mouse to care for it.

"Pika…" Pikachu looked at May and flashed a weak smile.

"It's alright Pikachu, you did your best," May picked up the mouse and held it in her arms like a baby.

"Pi?" Pikachu questioned.

"I don't know how we'll win, but we will, I promise. Ash wouldn't give up and I won't either," May remained kneeled down as she turned her attention to the illusions of two beings very close to her.

"Your failure to admit defeat saddens me. I'll have the honor of wrapping this up, Blaziken, use Fire Spin!" the demonic Ash instructed.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken shouted and released a spiral stream of fire.

_What now…_May thought, uncertain of how to react to the impending attack. She prepared to move out of the way until an unknown force caused the Fire Spin to stop halfway. The Fire-type attack became enveloped in a blue aura and May and Pikachu looked around to see who was causing this until they saw a small familiar Pokémon coming out of the trees.

Their eyes lightened up with relief when they saw who had appeared before them. "Victini!" May cried out in joy.

"Pika!" Pikachu grinned when he saw the Psychic-type.

Victini's eyes glowed blue as it hovered over to the Fire Spin and without warning, shot it back at Blaziken, causing the Blaze Pokémon to slide back from the attack, but remained unfazed.

"I should have known there was an intruder into the nightmare. That Victini's power is what I've been sensing," the phantom glared at the Victory Pokémon.

"Vi vi!" Victini hovered over to Pikachu and May, smiling happily at both of them.

"We're happy to see you too," the sapphire-eyed teen grinned at the Victory Pokémon.

"Victini v," Victini grinned at them as it hovered around in circles.

"Blaziken, Quick Attack this instant!" the voice of the false Ash could be heard.

Victini's attention from its friends quickly shifted to Blaziken and the Victory Pokémon narrowly dodged the Blaze Pokémon's charge.

"Spin around to counter and Blaze Kick!" the demonic Ash ordered.

After Victini narrowly dodged Quick Attack, it received an impending hit from Blaziken after it spun around 360 degrees to deliver the Blaze Kick. "Viiii!" Victini cried in pain as it flew back towards a tree, but the Psychic-type gained back its composure before it could crash against the tree trunk.

"Victini!" May shouted when she saw what she considered her baby being brutally attacked by Blaziken.

"Vi," Victini glared at Blaziken and braced itself for another attack.

"Not much of a fighter after all," the false Ash commented and chuckled.

May frowned and got on her feet. "Victini is going to defeat you, and I'm going to prove it to you. We won't lose to some manifestation of something that isn't real."

"Whatever you say, Blaziken, prepare a Fire Spin for our guests, start with Victini!" the evil Ash pointed at Victini.

"Victini, dodge and use Quick Attack fast!" the brunette commanded.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu ordered the Fire-type.

Victini nodded and swayed over from the approaching Fire Spin and charged at Blaziken full speed. The power of the charge and its speed allowed Victini to send Blaziken flying against the ground, but the Blaze Pokémon quickly got back onto its feet.

"That's the power of Victini, if you didn't know," May grinned confidently with Pikachu.

"Let's step it up, Blaziken, use Flamethrower!" the phony Ash instructed.

"Victini, use any ability that you feel will be able to counter Flamethrower," May let Victini make the decision as to how to strike back.

"V," Victini nodded and turned its gaze to the incoming Flamethrower. It hovered above the ground calmly and formed a smile on its face while slowly closing its eyes. All of a sudden, the Victory Pokémon became surrounded by a yellow aura and small sparkles of energy made the aura thicker.

"What's it doing?" May raised an eyebrow, confused by what Victini was doing.

"Blaziken, power up your Flamethrower to counter Stored Power, fast!" the false Ash commanded.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken shouted and thickened the stream of fire.

"Victini!" Victini instantly opened its eyes and unleashed a yellow beam of energy that shot straight through the Flamethrower, destroying it from existence and then charging towards Blaziken. Without warning, the energy beam shot at Blaziken and sent the Blaze Pokémon flying through multiple tree trunks, breaking them all in the process.

"Impossible!" the demonic Ash cried out.

"Way to go Victini, now finish this with Confusion!" the sapphire-eyed girl commanded.

Before Blaziken could get up, Victini's eyes began to glow blue and a blue aura enveloped Blaziken. The Victory Pokémon began to make the Blaziken levitate high into the air. Blaziken was too weak to fight back the Psychic's powers and the next command guaranteed its demise.

"Now, plummet it to the ground!" May ordered.

"Viiiiiii!" Victini obeyed and sent Blaziken shooting down like a meteor. When the Blaze Pokémon hit the ground, it caused a small sound wave and left a crater in the ground. Blaziken was clearly down for the count now.

The false Ash's eyes became a purple-black and it stood frozen in fear. "You troublesome girl, you may have defeated me, but the greatest opponents lies at the end of this path. You will be sorry when you cross paths with the king of the domain," the phantom stated with cold words and slowly began to disappear, every inch of its body turning into black dust blown away by the wind.

When the ghost finally vanished, Victini let out deep breaths and hovered over to May and Pikachu, "Vi v victini," the Legendary Pokémon smiled and danced around the too.

"You did it Victini, you did great out there and you didn't even need my help half the time," May congratulated Victini on its victory.

"Pika pi pikachu," Pikachu also congratulated Victini from May's arms; the mouse smiled at the Victory Pokémon and was proud of the infant for its first victory.

"Victini vi vi v," Victini rubbed its cheek against May's and then Pikachu's.

May rubbed her cheek against Victini in affection and when they stopped, she grinned joyfully at it. The happiness then came to stop when May questioned Victini about something that had been on her mind since she woke up to find herself in a nightmare, "Victini, we were looking for Ash through the forest and instead we ran into a fake. We were hoping you would be with him, but I was wondering if you actually know where Ash might be."

"V vi," Victini sighed and nodded its head sideways.

May and Pikachu displayed disappointed looks and Victini became saddened over the continued disappearance of their beloved friend. May caressed Victini and spoke softly, "Don't worry, the three of us will find Ash together, right?" the brunette smiled at Victini and Pikachu, hoping to get the same gesture back from them.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu became encouraged by May's optimism and agreed on continuing their search for Ash.

"Victini!" Victini cheered as well thanks to May's encouragement and agreed on finding Ash with its mother and brother.

The trio of friends then smiled at each other and once again prepared to search for the missing friend. After running into such a formidable foe though, they weren't sure what else to expect from this bizarre nightmare.

"We really have to get out of this place," May walked with Victini and Pikachu, gazing all over the nightmarish woodland zone.

"V vi," Victini sat on May's shoulder and held onto to her by her neck. The Victory Pokémon clearly remained frightened by the environment even after defeating illusions.

"Pi pika," Pikachu led the way; the mouse remained very alert and analyzed the area very carefully. From time to time he'd turn his head back to make sure if May and Victini were alright.

"We have to find Ash and discover a way out of here. I'm sure the Litwick created this nightmare after knocking us out, we have to find a way to wake up," May stated, desperate to be reunited with her boyfriend and get out of here.

"Pi," Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"Vi!" Victini pointed at something among the trees, the Victory Pokémon's gaze became frightened once again when it saw it.

"What's wrong Victini?" May looked at the Fire-type.

"Pikachu," Pikachu detected the figure as well and got into a defensive position, ready to protect May and Victini.

May became concerned with the Pokémon's attitude and looked where Victini had pointed. The brunette became baffled when she saw the figure, "Cilan?" the sapphire-eyed girl questioned when she saw the shadowy figure, but the only thing that stood out was its green hair.

"It's too dark to see," May tried to see through the darkness, but failed to identify the figure.

Victini remained frightened while Pikachu stayed in its defensive pose. After a few seconds though, the shadowy figure began to move away from them and May's curiosity quickly got the best of her, "Let's follow it, it might lead us to Ash or a way out of this place," the sapphire-eyed girl believed.

"V vi victini," Victini began to feel uneasy when it heard May.

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu was uncertain as well.

"C'mon you two, it's our only lead in this barren," May told the pair.

Pikachu and Victini looked at May, who seemed really serious about following the figure and in the end they had no choice, but to accept. "Pika," Pikachu nodded while Victini merely sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll protect both of you if things go bad," May assured the pair.

The pair of Pokémon reluctantly accepted and May led the way this time as they followed the figure. May couldn't help but feel like a spy as they quietly followed the shadowy figure. However, it didn't matter if May got closer, the figure still remained shadowy and the only thing that continued to stand out was its green hair, nevertheless, even the style of the green hair was unknown.

"I wonder where it's heading or maybe it's just walking around aimlessly," May murmured, hiding behind every bush and tree the trio came across.

"Pikapi pikachu," Pikachu tried to identify the figure, but even the mouse's greater senses failed it.

"Vi victini," Victini still felt uneasy and would take a peek from behind May's head, but even the Legendary Pokémon had a hard time identifying it.

"C'mon, we have to hurry or we'll lose sight of it," May came out of behind the tree and slowly walked behind it.

When the trio started to finally cover more distance between them and the figure, they could now hear the sounds of its footsteps. "Get behind the tree," May became alarmed when she saw the figure turning and without wasting another second; she pushed them behind the tree.

The figure turned around, but the trio was no longer behind it and it just continued walking.

May had taken a peek of it from behind the tree, but still had a hard time trying to determine if it was Cilan. Its face continued to hide under the darkness of the night.

"Let's keep going," May told the Pokémon pair and slowly came out from behind the tree and followed the mysterious figure.

* * *

"May, Pikachu!" Ash called out his beloved and best friend.

"Vi victini!" Victini called out as well.

When they got no response, Ash and Victini sighed. "It's no use, we've been doing this forever and we still can't find them," Ash lowered his head in disappointment.

"Viiii," Victini said with despair, the Victory Pokémon clearly missed the brunette and yellow mouse as well.

Ash raised his head and formed a grin, the auburn-eyed teen placed his hand on Victini's back and said, "Cheer up Victini, we'll find them, we just have to have faith."

Victini looked up at Ash and wiped away the tears that had formed in its eyes and grinned when he saw his father-like figure's cheery face. The Victory Pokémon couldn't wait to meet up with its 'mama' and 'brother' and seeing his 'papa' optimistic, lifted the Psychic-type's spirits.

"Victini," Victini hugged Ash's hand and smiled at it gleefully.

"That's the spirit, now let's keep searching for them," Ash grinned at Victini.

"V," Victini nodded, but the sweet moment ended when they heard leaves rustling.

"What was that?" Ash became alarmed and looked around the area.

"Vi?" Victini had a frightened gaze on and motioned its head frantically.

"Quick, hide Victini," Ash whispered and they leaped behind a bush to hide from what was causing the rustling.

Ash and Victini made a small hole through the bush to take a peek and Ash's eyes widened when he saw who dropped down from a tree. The figure wandering around the zone was none other than the silver-haired leader of the Majestic 12, Omega.

His cold gold-eyed gaze examined the area and the tan-skinned criminal sniffed the area and smirked. "Is this another fake?" Ash was uncertain about whether it was the real Omega or not. He wouldn't be surprised if Omega was responsible for this whole fiasco in the first place, but it wouldn't be good if the Majestic 12 leader had actually found them.

"V," Victini pressed against Ash with a fearful look.

"I'll keep you safe, don't you worry," Ash assured Victini and brought the little one closer.

From the small hole of the bush, Ash saw Omega jump back into the trees and disappeared from sight. "Looks like it's gone," Ash let out a sigh of relief.

Before the boy could stand up though, the sound of someone dropping down was heard from behind them and the next thing he felt was a warm energy against his head. "Not good," Ash frowned and turned around to see Omega aiming a Shadow Ball right at his face.

"Vi," Victini froze with fear when it saw the villain.

"How'd you find us and why are you here?" Ash grinded his teeth as he glared at Omega.

Omega remained quiet and merely gave Ash his emotionless, but cold expression. The Shadow Ball in its palm became larger and the figure prepared to launch it at Ash.

The raven-haired teen braced himself, but before Omega could attack, Victini tackled Omega with Quick Attack and sent the Majestic 12 leader crashing against a tree. "Victini that was amazing," Ash became amazed by the bravery and power his friend had just shown.

"Vi," Victini smiled at Ash, but its gaze shifted back to Omega, who it glared at.

Omega got up and glared at Victini, but much to the pair's surprise it changed form into something possibly more formidable. The creature's tan skin turned into was a large teal suit of armor and its height increased significantly and towered over 6.5 feet. Its body also became thicker and Omega's eyes changed drastically. When the transformation was completed a new being revealed itself, "Goluuurk," the Pokémon towered over the pair.

"What Pokémon is that?" Ash hadn't expected such a twist and reached for his Pokédex.

The screen on the Pokédex revealed the giant Pokémon and the machine informed, "Golurk, the Automaton Pokémon and the evolved form of Golett. Flying faster than the speed of sound, Golurk loses control when the seal on its chest is removed."

"Sounds tough," Ash frowned at the Pokémon. Although he became relieved that Omega was actually a Golurk, he knew that the Ghost-type could still put up a fight.

"Goooolurk!" Golurk shouted and shot out a black beam shaped like its fist from its arm.

"Dodge it with Quick Attack Victini and then use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded, ready for battle.

Victini narrowly dodged the Shadow Punch and it didn't waste a moment to unleash Flamethrower. Golurk formed a fist and it began to glow white. The Automation Pokémon then charged at the Flamethrower and broke right through it and punched Victini, sending the Victory Pokémon flying against the ground.

"Golurk," the armored Pokémon said and formed a Shadow Ball. Within the next second, it blasted it at Victini and sent the Psychic-type flying again.

"Viiiiii!" Victini cried.

"Victini!" Ash shouted and glared at Golurk.

Victini groaned as it got up, but at the same a time a yellow aura began to envelope it and out of nowhere, it shot a beam at Golurk. "Viiiiii!" Victini shouted in anger.

Golurk suddenly became iron-colored and the Stored Power Victini released had no damage on the Ghost-type thanks to Iron Defense. "Darn, it's too strong," Ash grinded his teeth until an idea struck his head.

"Victini, use Confusion!" Ash commanded.

Victini nodded and made its eyes glow blue while Golurk became outlined in a blue aura. "Send it flying!" Ash made a fist and punched forward.

"Victini!" Victini used its full power to send Golurk bashing through tree trunks.

As it got pushed back though, Golurk made an attempt to hit Victini. "Goooooluuuuurk!" the Automation Pokémon shouted and released a Shadow Ball while being thrown around by Confusion.

"Victini, dodge fast!" the auburn-eyed teen ordered.

Victini instantly stopped its assault and narrowly dodged the incoming Shadow Ball. Golurk dropped to the ground and moaned in pain, the armored Pokémon then proceeded to getting up, but Ash knew they couldn't allow that.

"Victini, finish this with Searing Shot!" Ash pointed at Golurk.

Like Ash, Victini knew they couldn't allow then powerful ghost Pokémon to get up and unleashed its most powerful attack. The little one began to glow red and without further warning, released a spiral fire-ball shaped like a meteor.

Searing Shot charged at Golurk at incredible speed and blasted Golurk, making the Automation Pokémon moan in pain as the flames consumed it. When the flames slowly faded, Golurk was left as dark as charcoal and simply dropped back down, having taken too much damage from the Legendary Victini.

"Yes, nice one Victini!" Ash made a fist and grinned at Victini.

"Vi vi," Victini danced around Ash, celebrating its second victory in a row.

"You're stronger than you think Victini, I'm impressed," Ash smiled at the Victory Pokémon.

"Victini!" Victini smiled back and gaze Ash a thumbs up.

Their victory however, was short-lived because the environment around them started to fade. The trees, the sky, the bushes, the rocks, and everything else started to transform into black dust. "What's happening?" Ash became confused, not sure if this was a good or bad thing.

"Vi," Victini became alert and looked at the area surrounding them, everything in their area started to fade at a quick rate and within seconds, everything turned black.

* * *

May, Pikachu, and Victini continued to follow the figure, since they started following it, all the figure had done was walk around mindlessly, "This is getting nowhere," May sighed, losing hope on finding leads by following the figure.

"Pika pika," Pikachu also let out a sigh.

"Vi," Victini let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought we could find Ash or a way out by following it, but this is pointless, let's just get back to looking the old fashion way," May told the pair.

They all agreed and prepared to turn back, but all of a sudden a chilly voice was heard saying, "May…"

The trio stopped where they were and turned around to the figure, who they believed was the one that said it. "Did it just say my name," May put on an uncomfortable smile and looked at the figure.

Pikachu and Victini became alarmed and saw that the figure had stopped walking. "Who are you?" May asked the figure with a worried look.

From the way its hair motioned, it seemed like the figure turned around and faced the trio now. Sounds of a devious chuckle could be heard echoing all over the forest and the group of three felt a chill crawl up their spines.

The darkness became illuminated and when the figure revealed itself, May and Pikachu gasped in surprise. The green-haired figure had emerald eyes, blue jeans, a black shirt, and a purple jacket, but his cocky grin was the most prominent feature.

"Drew?" May inquired, but then shook her head and glared at the figure.

The false Drew grinned mischievously as it walked over to May slowly. "You're not Drew, you're just another illusion," May came to her senses and knew it was impossible for Drew to actually be here.

"Pika," Pikachu began to spark its cheeks while Victini continued to hide behind May's head.

Drew stopped just five feet away from May and raised his left arm. The green-haired copy then raised his left hand and formed a Shadow Ball by its palm. May stood her ground and prepared for whatever the copy was going to do.

The fake Drew shot out the Shadow Ball at May, but before it could even get close, Pikachu intervened, releasing a Thunderbolt that blasted back Shadow Ball at the phony Drew. The false Drew took the attack, but didn't seem fazed by it.

The next moment, the phony Drew shrugged off the attack and glared at May. "It didn't have much effect on him," May frowned at the copy of her friend.

The copy then closed its eyes and a black aura began to surround it. Without any signal, Drew's skin turned into teal armor and its height increased significantly, not to mention that its body became much thicker. "What's going on?" May's eyes widened as she saw the phony Drew change into an entirely different being.

By the time it finished transforming, a new figure stood in front that looked nothing like Drew. "Goooolurk," the creature moaned as it towered over the brunette and her friends.

"It was a Pokémon this whole time," May stepped back a bit, but continued to frown at Golurk.

"Golurk!" Golurk unleashed a Shadow Ball without warning. The incoming attack was too fast for Pikachu to react, but from behind May's head, Victini shot out and released a Searing Shot.

"Viiiiii!" Victini glared and released the meteor-shaped fire-ball at Shadow Ball and easily overpowered it. Searing Shot then continued to charge at Golurk, but the Ghost-type countered easily with Defense Curl and shrugged off Searing Shot.

Golurk shook off the flames while the trio continued to glare at it. "Pikachu, Victini's going to need your help," May told the electric mouse.

"Pi," Pikachu nodded and got beside Victini.

"Alright, Pikachu, use Electro Ball, Victini, use Flamethrower!" May commanded.

"Pikaaaachuuu!" Pikachu flipped and released the electric sphere from its tail.

"Victiniiiii!" Victini unleashed the stream of fire.

"Goooooooluuuuurk!" Golurk charged at the pair of attacks with a glowing red fist.

Golurk's DynamicPunch pushed through the Electro Ball and Flamethrower with ease and hit both Pikachu and Victini, sending the pair flying against the ground in the process.

"It's strong, I'll give it that, but we can't give up guys," May remained confident about Pikachu and Victini's abilities.

"Goluuuuurk!" Golurk pushed its arm back and then punched forward, unleashing a black fist from its arm that charged at Pikachu and Victini.

"Pikachu, counter with Iron Tail and Victini, get in there and use Stored Power!" May ordered.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu leaped between Victini and the Shadow Punch and canceled it out with Iron Tail. The explosion from the impact caused Pikachu to flip back while a yellow beam of energy shot from behind the mouse and at Golurk.

The Automation Pokémon was clearly caught off guard by the incoming attack and got blasted towards the ground, causing a minor explosion. When the dust from the explosion cleared, Golurk was getting up from the small crater that had been formed.

"Don't give it a chance to attack or defend itself, Victini let's give it a Searing Shot and Pikachu, use Iron Tail to swing the Searing Shot for more power!" May made a fist and grinned confidently.

Victini and Pikachu smiled and nodded at each other. Victini began to glow red and formed a large ball of fire, within a second, the Pokémon cried out, "Viiiiiii!" and released Searing Shot.

"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu jumped into the air and used Iron Tail as a bat to increase the speed and power of Searing Shot.

Pikachu's Iron Tail caused the mouse a little pain because of steel's weakness to fire, but Searing Shot launched even faster at Golurk than before and the fire became noticeably thicker. Golurk tried to counter with DynamicPunch, but the Legendary Fire-type attack proved too much with the increased power given by Iron Tail.

Searing Shot then sent Golurk flying it hit and the fiery sphere shot through the multiple trees with Golurk in it. Searing Shot destroyed everything in its past and when the flame could no longer go on, Golurk was meters away from the battlefield and the last thing May and the Pokémon duo saw of Golurk was it trying to get up, but then dropped to the ground, causing a slight tremor.

"Good job you two, we won," May smiled at Victini and Pikachu.

"Pikapi pi!" Pikachu made a peace sign at May while Victini gave her a thumbs up.

May giggled and was glad they had averted yet another threat in this nightmare, but before she could say anything else, she noticed that the environment began to turn into black dust, everything was fading away.

"This place is falling apart," May became alarmed by how the forest was slowly falling apart.

Pikachu and Victini also became alert and saw the trees turning into black dust blown away by the winds roaming through the area.

As the environment faded, a small black hole appeared beneath the trio and the last thing they felt was a sudden rush that turned their vision black.

* * *

"This is getting old," Ash sat up and blinked several times to see where he was. To his surprise, he was back in the forest he remembered where everything was foggy and didn't appear to be nighttime.

"I can't tell what's real and what's dream anymore," Ash heard a familiar voice and turned his head back to see May sitting up, rubbing her eyes.

"Piiii…" Pikachu slowly got onto his feet while trying to wake up.

"Vi victini!" Victini appeared, dancing above the trio happily.

"May, Pikachu, Victini!" Ash cheered when he saw his beloved, his best friend, and 'child'.

May turned her head to Ash and a large smile formed on her face. "Ash!" May hugged him when she saw him.

Ash returned the embrace and spoke, "I was so worried about you. I looked everywhere for you, in that nightmare."

"I was worried about you, but now I'm here and you're with me," May held onto the boy and looked up at him with a smile.

The auburn-eyed teen grinned at her and stared into her eyes while he motioned towards her lips. Now this felt right to Ash, May kissed him passionately, but softly like always and he enjoyed May's fingers running his hair while he held onto her waist. It was probably one of the best moments Ash had had in a long time, and May's kiss was something he always valued.

"Pi pikapi," Pikachu interrupted them and Ash and May stopped.

"Hey pal," Ash grinned at Pikachu, who leaped at Ash and hugged him.

"I was worried about you too, I am glad you're safe," Ash smiled as he held onto his friend.

"Vi v victini," Victini hovered down to them and embraced the three. The Victory Pokémon had clearly been crying since there were tear stains on its cheeks.

"Victini, thank you so much for helping out in that place," May embraced the Victory Pokémon.

"I hate to think what would've happened if you hadn't showed up," Ash hugged Victini.

"Pika pi pikachu," Pikachu also held onto the Fire-type.

Victini smiled and stared at all three of the people it cared about. When they got forced to separate, May turned her attention to Ash, "Ash, did you dream of being in this dark forest where there were people we knew?"

Ash nodded, "I did, and all I tried to do was look for you, Pikachu, and Victini. Instead of finding you guys though, I got attacked by illusions and Ghost Pokémon; I don't know what would've happened to me if Victini hadn't come to the rescue and help defeat this Golurk."

"I dreamt the same thing, except Pikachu was with me the whole time. We were also attacked by illusions and Ghost Pokémon, but Victini came to our rescue," May explained, caressing the Fire-type's cheek.

"Those Litwick must have created a nightmare for us when they attacked, they're gone now though," Ash looked around the area.

"I have a feeling Victini is responsible for why we're still here, if Victini was in two dreams at once. It must have gotten into both of them in an attempt to protect us," May stated her belief.

Ash turned to Victini and smiled, "Did you really do that Victini? You were protecting us while we were asleep and even went inside our dreams?"

"Vi," Victini nodded, having used its psychic powers to protect its friends.

"Looks like this time, you were the one protecting us," May grinned at Victini and rubbed her cheek against Victini, the two sharing an affectionate moment.

They all smiled in joy for making it alright, but the happy family moment got spoiled when the sounds of stomping and the earth shaking alarmed the gang. "What's going on now?" May became alarmed and held onto Ash's hand for security.

"We're about to find out," Ash glared at the creature emerging from the fog, by this point it was all too familiar to the group of four. They knew they were in for a rude awakening when they saw it.

**I try to write a simple filler chapter where the relationship between Ash, May, and Victini can be further explored and I end up writing another long chapter. Guess I overdid cause I honestly found this chapter enjoyable because of how Victini's relationship with the two trainers develops and how it actually looks like Ash, May, Pikachu, and Victini are a family. Anyway, I sincerely apologize for how out of hand this got, believe it or not, there was going to be more, but I'll just include the rest in the next chapter and in the next chapter, we'll see Ash and May finally reaching Virbank City after a nightmarish struggle. Btw, I felt like the last half of this chapter felt rushed, sorry about that, but I just wanted to keep progressing and not write 10,000 words on one battle scene, especially the Golurk battles. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, especially the Victini interactions and this chapter was clearly based off the Litwick Mansion episode. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up because I have finals coming up so I'll need to study for that, but don't worry. I'll do everything in my power to keep you guys from waiting too long . It shouldn't take me more than two weeks to post it up, so until then guys. Keep in mind, this chapter is completely irrelevant and is just a random event the gang experiences like in the anime. So don't try to make connections with major plots going on in the story. Well remember to REVIEW, PM, or anything like that guys. Catch ya soon! **


	25. All that Glitters is Gold

Chapter 25: Hold the Line

"This can't be good," May gulped when she saw the figure that stood in front of them, coming out of the fog and in an intimidating posture.

"It's big," Ash gulped when it saw the creature that towered over them, from the looks of it, the creature was over 12 feet.

"Pikaaaa," Pikachu's jaw dropped and gazed up at the thing.

"Vi victini," Victini shivered in fright and hid behind Ash and May.

"It's also very different from all the other Golurk we've seen," the brunette examined its features.

"I know, the Golurk in our nightmares weren't this tall and this one is gray, it must be a Shiny Golurk," Ash looked up at the formidable Ghost Pokémon, mentioning the most prominent of this unique Golurk.

"What are we going to do Ash?" May had a frightened look on.

"There's only one option, we'll have to battle it," Ash put on a confident smile and stood up with a courageous posture.

May nodded and put on a confident smile and stood with the same courageous stance.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Golurk!" Ash commanded while pointing at the Ghost-type.

Pikachu nodded and jumped into the air, turning its tail into steel. "Pikachu!" Pikachu prepared to swing his tail at the Ghost Pokémon.

"Golurk!" Golurk raised its arms up and became outlined in yellow energy. The armored Pokémon then wasted no time in charging at Pikachu.

When Iron Tail hit Golurk, it left it unfazed and the Ghost-type bashed at Pikachu full force. "Pikaaaaa," Pikachu cried out when Golurk bashed it and sent it crashing toward the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash and May gasped.

May became concerned and spoke, "Golurk used Heavy Slam, and that Iron Tail had no effect on it."

Ash grinded his teeth while responding, "That Golurk has high defense. We'll have to try harder."

"V…" Victini got highly intimidated by Golurk's fierce power while hiding behind Ash and May.

"Piiiiii," Pikachu struggled to get back on its feet while Golurk merely towered over it.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt now!" Ash extended his arm to the left while making his command.

Pikachu glared at Golurk and charged up electricity. In no time the mouse cried out, "Pikaaachuuuu!" and released a violent bolt of electricity.

When the attack hit Golurk, the armored Pokémon simply chuckled and shook it off by flexing. "Ash, Electric-type attacks won't work on a Ground-type like Golurk," May reminded Ash while still having a worried expression.

The raven-haired teen gritted his teeth, "That's right, I forgot. How are we supposed to beat, it's stronger than we could imagine."

Before Ash or May could do something about Golurk though, the Ghost-type released Shadow Punch and the powerful Ghost-type attack charged at Pikachu.

The Shadow Punch came at Pikachu so quick, the mouse had no time to react and got punched towards a tree, crying out in pain. "Piiiikaaa," Pikachu felt its energy hitting zero and after crashing against the tree, it dropped to the ground unconscious.

"That last one hurt Pikachu completely," May squealed in fright.

"No way," Ash's eyes were wide and felt sorry for his pal for having to sustain so much damage. He quickly ran over to the mouse with May and picked him up.

"Pikachu, I'm sorry you got hurt pal. You did your best," Ash gave the weak-looking Pikachu a sad gaze.

"Pi…" Pikachu let out and grinned softly. The next second the yellow mouse closed its eyes and had no energy left.

"Victini," Victini's eyes began to water when it saw Pikachu.

"Poor Pikachu," May caressed Pikachu's head with a sad look in her eyes.

"We'll take him to the closest Pokémon Center as soon as this is over," Ash regained his composure and glared into the trees, his back still facing Golurk.

"Gooooluuuurk!" Golurk moaned loudly and the last thing Ash and May heard was the sound of an energy beam being blasted.

Victini instantly moved out of the way, but when the couple tried to see what it was, all they saw was a Hyper Beam, and the next moment they got blasted against trees themselves. May cried out in pain while Ash held onto Pikachu tightly and enduring the pain his back just felt.

"May…are you…ok?" Ash struggled to lift his head up to see the girl just to his right.

Tears were hanging by the corner of May's eyes when the sapphire-eyed girl looked to him. "That one…hurt," May tried to hold back the tears, if she could she would crawl over to Ash to hug him, but the impact left her body unable to move that moment, she felt as though her spine would shake enough to just break after such a hard hit.

Ash clenched his fist and tried to get up, but his body was too weak after such a blast. "This isn't good," the boy managed to say.

Victini's eyes were wide with horror after watching Hyper Beam blast his parents away like that. The pain he saw in both their eyes and the sound of the impact hurt Victini on the inside. The fact that they were unable to do anything because of the attack and how badly they were hit forced Victini's tears out of its eyes.

The pain and hopelessness his trainers were feeling passed over to him and Victini's usually innocent eyes became violent. A red aura outlined the Victory Pokémon as tears streamed down its cheeks, evaporating before they could hit the ground.

Victini's eyes became red and the Pokémon turned to Golurk, glaring fiercely and gritting its teeth. "Viiicccc…tiiiiiii…niiiiiii!" Victini shouted so loudly in anger that the forest echoed with his scream.

"Huh?" Ash and May gently lifted their heads up and saw flames surrounding Victini.

"Victini?" May called out to the little one.

"It's going to battle Golurk," Ash flashed a small smile at Victini, realizing that the Victory Pokémon was furious at Golurk for what he had done.

"Seeing us get hurt like that must have provoked Victini, Golurk's gonna get it now," May formed a small grin when she saw Victini.

"Victiniiiiii!" Victini screeched and released Searing Shot with immense power and speed.

Golurk was immediately got off guard and the Searing Shot blasted the giant away, bashing and breaking through many trees. When it finally crashed, it moaned in pain while Victini continued to glare with its red eyes.

"Gooooluuurk," Golurk slowly got up, but before it could Victini charged at it using Flare Blitz and sent Golurk crashing back down.

"Viiiictiiiiniiii," Victini breathed heavily from using so much energy, but could still continue the fight.

Before Victini could unleash another attack though, five Shadow Balls shot out of the trees, all aiming at Victini. Victini took notice just in time and nimbly dodged all five, causing the Ghost-type attacks to hit each other and cancel out.

"Where did that come from?" May examined the area to see where the Shadow Balls had come from.

"Liiiitwiiick," a group of five Litwick revealed themselves when they came out of the trees, all glaring at Victini.

"Looks like it came from those Litwick," Ash frowned when he saw the small Pokémon who were responsible for putting the gang to sleep and take them into a nightmarish world. When he gazed at the Litwick for a couple of seconds, Ash came to a realization, "I get it now. This Golurk is those Litwick's leader. When they put us to sleep, they allowed the Golurk to get into our nightmares and harm us."

May nodded and turned to the Litwick after listening to Ash, "Yeah, I think you're right Ash. Looks like they're trying to protect Golurk from Victini and that's why they attacked."

"We'll just see if they can beat Victini though," Ash formed a confident smile and slowly began to get up gently, the pain from the impact finally fading.

"Litwick!" the Litwick released another barrage of Shadow Ball at Victini.

"Viiiiiii!" Victini cried out and engulfed itself in blue flames that protected it from the Shadow Balls.

"It used Inferno as a defensive move, that's smart," May praised Victini's tactics and slowly began to get on her feet as well.

"Keep going Victini!" Ash encouraged the Fire-type, now on his two feet and making a fist out of joy for Victini.

"Tiiiiiniiiiii!" Victini blasted the blue fire away in all directions, hitting the Litwick and causing them to fly everywhere.

"Lit…" the Litwick moaned and when they looked up at the hovering Victini from the ground, there was clearly a look of fear in their eyes.

"Goooluuurk!" Golurk moaned loudly, the armored Pokémon was now back on its two feet and wasted no time in using Hyper Beam.

The red beam charged toward Victini, but the red-eyed Pokémon stood its ground and used Confusion to manipulate the Hyper Beam. The powerful attack began to glow blue and Victini directed it to the ground near Golurk, causing a powerful explosion and a large cloud of dust to rise up.

"What's going on, I can't see a thing through that dust," Ash tried to see through the cloud by focusing his eyes.

"I can't see anything either," May tried to focus her eyes as well, concerned for Victini's well being.

In the cloud of dust, the Litwick searched frantically for Victini while Golurk stood like a statue. Out of nowhere though, Victini appeared right in front of Golurk and released a beam version of Stored Power at the giant.

The Litwick became alert, but Golurk remained still until its body changed into the color of steel and Stored Power did very little damage. The next moment, Golurk used Night Shade and fired a black beam at Victini, sending the Victory Pokémon crashing towards the ground and out of the cloud of dust.

Victini didn't cry out in pain like usual and its eyes remained red and serious as it got up. "Look there's Victini, it looks like Golurk used Night Shade on it though," May became more worried, fearing that her little one would get hurt after seeing it get blasted like that.

"Don't worry May, Victini's strong, it'll pull through and beat that Golurk on its own," Ash said and May looked at him, his comforting smile assuring her that Victini would be fine. The brunette nodded and formed a confident grin, turning her attention back to the battle.

The cloud of dust finally dispersed and it revealed the battlers again. The Litwick used Shadow Ball once again, but this time Golurk added Shadow Punch into the volley. Victini smiled slyly and nimbly dodged all the Ghost-type attacks, but as it dodged, its body became enveloped in a violent fire and Victini moved so fast, it resembled a fiery bullet.

Then without any warning, Victini charged at each Litwick using Flare Blitz and when it bashed each one, the Litwick went flying all over the field. When they crashed, the Litwick were out cold, no longer able to resist Victini's superior power.

"Vi," Victini grinned confidently.

"There goes the Litwick, now it's just Golurk," Ash grinned confidently, but his attention turned to Pikachu, who had been moving in his arms.

"Pika," Pikachu looked at Victini.

"Pikachu, have you been watching this whole time?" Ash gave Pikachu a curious look.

"Pi," Pikachu nodded and smiled, looking back at Victini.

"Victini is a great battler isn't he, this match is almost over," Ash gazed at the showdown between Ghost and Psychic.

"Look, Golurk is going to use Mega Punch," May pointed out.

Ash and Pikachu focused on Golurk and saw the Ghost-type's fist glowing white and being pulled back.

Victini braced itself for the incoming attack and when Golurk lunged forward, Victini knew just how to counter. "Golurk!" the armored Pokémon moaned when Victini used Confusion to stop Golurk from hitting it with Mega Punch.

"Vi victini v," Victini grinned slyly and began to make Golurk levitate.

"Go go lurk," Golurk obviously became uneasy when it saw itself floating.

"Viiiiii," Victini chuckled and maintained Golurk in midair. The gigantic Pokémon tried to its best to break free, but Victini had complete dominion over the Ghost-type.

Victini then charged up a white energy ball in front of its tiny body. Victini's red eyes focused on Golurk's and then Victini screamed, "Victini!" and released the energy ball version of Stored Power at Golurk, causing an explosion in midair and sending the Ghost-type flying far away from Victini and its friends.

"Gooooluuurk!" Golurk's moan could be heard fading away while Victini grinned.

When Golurk was finally lost in sight, Victini's eyes turned back to normal and the fog surrounding the gang was finally fading away as well. Ash, May, and Pikachu looked around and smiled, "With Golurk and those Litwick defeated, this fog is leaving," May grinned in joy.

"Way to go Victini!" Ash pumped his fist into the air while praising Victini.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu mimicked Ash while still in Ash's arms.

Victini turned around and smiled widely when it saw Ash and May on their feet, and Pikachu awake. Ash and May quickly ran over to it and Victini began to lower down to hug his parents and sibling. "We're so proud of you," May hugged Victini tightly.

"You saved the day, thank you for protecting us Victini," Ash also joined in the hug.

"Pi," Pikachu hugged Victini between the small Pokémon and the couple.

"Mama, Papa, Pika!" Victini embraced the trio happily.

When Ash and May heard Victini say that, they couldn't help but freeze for a moment and the next, they began to blush deeply while grinning at each other sheepishly.

"It said we're its 'mama' and 'papa', Ash," May spoke sweetly, liking the idea of Victini saying that.

"It even said half of Pikachu's name, who knew Victini would learn how to talk like that," Ash grinned, ignoring the thought of him and May being parents to a baby.

May sighed and ignored Ash's density, continuing to hug Victini until she saw something beyond the trees and past the hills. She separated from the hug and pointed toward that direction, "Look Ash, I think that's Virbank City!"

Ash and Victini separated and looked to where May was pointing. Ash smiled and said, "You're right May, quick, we should head there fast. The first stop is the Pokémon Center."

"It's not far, if we run there we can make it very fast," May stated and then formed a sly smile, confusing Ash, "Last one there is a Slowpoke!"

Without another word May dashed off, "Hey wait, you didn't give me a heads up May slow down!" Ash darted off behind her with Pikachu in his arms.

Victini giggled at their antics and began to fly, surpassing Ash and May within seconds. Victini looked back at the couple and winked and flew ahead.

"Victini's fast, but I won't let him win," May smiled confidently and ran faster.

"I won't let neither of you win," Ash grinned confidently and began to run faster, catching up with May and the couple along with Victini and Pikachu laughed the whole run to Virbank.

Running past the forest and hills, the gang made it to Virbank City at last. At the entrance of the city, Victini passed like a bullet and looked back at the couple while laughing. Ash and May reached the entrance simultaneously and sighed at each other.

"Looks like we're both Slowpoke," May grinned sheepishly.

"Guess so," Ash grinned sheepishly as well.

Victini and Pikachu chuckled at the trainers' comments and then smiled. When the fun was over, Ash spoke, "Let's head to the Pokémon Center, Pikachu and the other Pokémon need the rest and healing after that whole incident beginning in Castelia City."

"Right behind you," May agreed and the group wasted no time in reaching the Pokémon Center.

Victini hid well among Ash and May, frightened by all the people they passed while walking around the city. Ash, May, and Pikachu assured the Victory Pokémon that no one would harm it, but Victini remained timid and focused his attention on getting where his parents wanted to be.

"Here we are, let's head to the counter," Ash became relieved about their arrival at the Pokémon Center.

"This place is pretty empty for a Pokémon Center during the day in a busy city," May examined the area, seeing only one or two trainers wandering as they walked over to the counter.

"Hey Nurse Joy," Ash and May greeted the pink-haired woman when they reached the counter, grinning at the nice lady.

"Hello and welcome, how may I help you?" Nurse Joy grinned, asking.

"We just here from the woods and we'd like for you to take care of our Pokémon," May told the nurse.

"I'd be happy to," Nurse Joy said nicely.

"Great, thanks Nurse Joy," Ash thanked the woman.

Ash placed his Pikachu over the counter and smiled, "We'll be back soon, Pikachu, behave well ok? Have a nice rest."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and grinned happily.

Ash then placed his Pokéballs beside Pikachu and Nurse Joy placed Pikachu and the Pokéballs and a mobile tray pushed by Audino. Before they took off though, May placed her Pokéballs on the counter and Nurse Joy placed them with Ash's as well. When she reached for Victini, who hid behind, the Victory Pokémon moved away from her.

"Oh my, is that the Legendary Pokémon, Victini?" Nurse Joy's eyes widened when she saw it.

"The one and only, we'd like for you to take care of it, but please don't let anyone know that it's here. It's a rare Pokémon so who knows who might be after it, please Nurse Joy," Ash told the woman with a concerned tone.

"Of course, I'll take good care of it, there are a lot of criminals running loose these days, so I'll do everything to protect it," Nurse Joy assured Ash and the boy smiled while nodding.

"Victini, what is up with you, come back," May tried to reach for Victini, but the Victory Pokémon would move away from the brunette every time.

"May, I don't think it wants us to leave it here, it'll be its first time without us remember?" Ash pointed out to his beloved.

May sighed and spoke with a dismayed voice, "That's right, but after that battle with Golurk, Victini needs to take a good rest."

"Vi," Victini seemed uneasy, not willing to be separated by his parents.

From behind the Victory Pokémon though, Ash popped out and grabbed him. The boy turned Victini around, and the Victory Pokémon was trying to break free from papa's grasp.

"Victini, I promise mama and papa will be back for you soon. We're only leaving you here because Nurse Joy will heal any injuries you have and you'll be with Pikachu," Ash tried to calm Victini down. When May heard Ash use the terms, "mama" and "papa", she became surprised, seeing as how he ignored the comment about that earlier, but it seemed that he was using those words to calm Victini.

"We won't be gone for long. We'll be reunited soon and you can be with mama and papa ok? Pikachu, will take good care of you if anything happens and Nurse Joy is a nice lady, she'll be very gentle with you," May got beside Ash and spoke softly and grinned sweetly at Victini.

Victini looked into Ash and May's warm and assuring eyes for second with a gaze of uncertainty, and then it turned to Nurse Joy and Pikachu, who were both smiling at it. Victini turned back to the couple and gazed into their eyes one last time, causing a smile to form. "Vi victini," Victini beamed and nodded.

Ash and May smiled at it and brought Victini over to the counter. "Take good care of him Nurse Joy, we'll be back for them soon," May told the woman.

"You'll also take good care of Victini, right Pikachu?" Ash smiled at his partner, who nodded cheerfully.

When Victini got placed beside Pikachu, the Victory Pokémon grinned joyfully and Pikachu returned the gesture. Audino then took the Pokémon away and Victini and Pikachu waved goodbye Ash and May.

After waving until Pikachu and Victini were gone, Ash and May's stomachs began to grumble, the sound even resembled the sound a Snorlax would make. The two laughed nervously and Ash spoke, "Speaking of which, we should probably get something to eat now."

"Agreed," May continued to laugh with an embarrassed expression.

Nurse Joy also couldn't help, but giggle and said, "May I recommend going to Virbank City's most famous and delicious restaurant, The Toscana? It's located in the Pokéstar Studios part of town."

"Toscana?" May became puzzled by the name.

"Pokéstar Studios?" Ash questioned.

"Yes, Pokéstar Studios is a district in Virbank City where movies are filmed and the premieres of many well-known films take place there. You'll know you're there when you see a lot of advertisement for movies and crowds of photographers and people admiring film and music celebrities, and because of the big banner that welcomes you there. Toscana is located there, it is the oldest, most famous, and delectable, restaurant in town," Nurse Joy informed them.

"Sounds like fun, I've always wondered where they made movies and where celebrities live," Ash seemed interested.

"Plus, after hearing all that about The Toscana, I'm dying to try out there food too. It'll be so amazing if we meet a celebrity while eating there," May clasped her hands together and fantasized about meeting high-profile celebs.

Ash smiled at May as she fantasized and turned to Nurse Joy, "Then it's settled, we'll go to The Toscana."

"Wonderful, to get there, just go in the direction of that hill with the big sign that says 'Pokéwood'," Nurse Joy pointed out a window, which Ash and May peeked through.

"Got it!" Ash and May said at the same time.

From there, Ash and May bid farewell to Nurse Joy for now and began their walk to The Toscana in the famous Pokéstar Studios district. Although one question did pop into May's head and she had to ask Ash, "Ash, you think we should call Iris, Cilan, or the others before going to eat?"

Ash placed his hands behind his head and smiled, "I'd like to, but I feel like I'm going to faint if I don't eat something soon. Besides, I think they're doing fine, better than us I bet."

"Yeah I think that too, I was just wondering and I feel the same, I feel like I'll blackout if I don't eat soon," May grinned at Ash.

"Wonder what we'll see at Pokéstar Studios though," Ash began to think about what was in store for them in that part of town.

"From what Nurse Joy said, probably some interesting stuff, I just wish I had a camera," May smiled at first, but then sighed.

Ash wondered for a second, but then grinned, "If you want to take pictures, you can take one with the Xtransceivers, remember what they told us this thing could do?" Ash lowered examined his black Xtransceiver.

"Oh right, how could I forget? That's perfect!" May cheered happily, glad Ash had remembered that certain feature.

After minutes of walking and nearing the hill with the Pokéwood sign on it, they reached the base of the hill and found a large banner like Nurse Joy had said with "Welcome to Pokéstar Studios," written in large red letters and Pokémon icons surround the message, Pokémon like the Unova starters and others.

"We'll let's see what it's like," Ash grinned and walked into the district

"I'm so excited," May spoke eagerly.

Ash and May held hands as they walked and almost immediately, they found themselves among many people, walking, yelling, and screaming all over the place. While Ash a little annoyed by the ruckus, May was oblivious to it all thanks to the multiple shopping stores, and restaurants around.

"This place is fantastic!" May's eyes became star-shaped and got mesmerized by it all.

Ash sighed and replied, "May, I've seen at least half these stores already in Castelia City when you went shopping."

"But I didn't get to buy anything," May sighed in disappointment.

"I'd like to get you something, but this place is almost as expensive as Castelia City. Besides, we came here to eat remember? We don't have too much money on us," the raven-haired teen reminded the brunette.

"Yeah you're right, may be next time…but I can't wait to eat!" May's low spirit of not being able to afford 99% of the things here got raised by the thought of food.

"Nurse Joy was right about this place though and what I can't stop seeing is giant billboards and posters on stores about upcoming movies. I've probably even seen at least one movie theatre every five blocks we've walked," Ash stated the other thing that stood out in the area.

"Yeah, if you just look there's a ton of advertisement for movies like a couple of ones I saw called 'The Aura Knight Rises', 'Trainer of Steel', 'The Pokémon Avengers', 'Breaking Dusk', 'Lord of the Plates', I could go on forever," May said, seeing even more film advertisement as she named the most prominent movie advertisements she saw as they walked.

Ash agreed as they continued walking, but they halted when they saw a black limo pass right in front of them and a crowd of about 100 people followed it, most of them photographers. The two became alarmed by the crowd that dashed like a herd of Tauros and they could hear very loud yelling like, "Quick, who took a picture of Aniston," "This photo is going to get on 'Unova Today'," "Look there's that Selina girl!"

The sounds of their cameras clicking was probably the worst part, but when the crowd finally passed by them, the couple was left unharmed. As the crowd vanished from sight, Ash and May gazed with horror, "They make my Tauros seem tamed," Ash commented.

"Talk about zero control, I could've sworn more of them popped up out nowhere when they got close," May added to what Ash said.

"We should get moving before we're stomped on by another one of those crowds," Ash suggested and the two quickly got going.

"Is it really healthy for people to be so obsessed with celebrities?" May inquired, thinking about the crowd from earlier as they walked.

"I don't think so, but I guess that's just how some people are," Ash answered her question.

After some more walking, another thought struck into May's head, one which somewhat irritated her.

"By the way, how are we going to find The Toscana if Nurse Joy only told us how to get to Pokéstar Studios, this place seems pretty big," May's tone became sassy when she realized that they weren't even sure where they were heading.

Ash froze and wondered how he never thought of that. When he looked at May, he could tell that she clearly wasn't happy, and he laughed nervously. "It must've slipped my mind," the auburn-eyed teen chuckled nervously.

May sighed and lowered on to her knees, "Oh Ash, what do we do now?"

"We could ask for directions, what do you think May?" Ash looked down at the ground, thinking, when he got no response from May, he lifted his head and asked, "May?"

When he saw the girl, she was staring ahead of them and in front of them was a golden statue of what looked like a rock star. Ash became as fascinated with the statue as May, it was made of gold, it was spotless, and it appeared to be about 15 feet tall.

"Who do you think this is?" May got onto to her feet and admired the statue. The rock star was a girl, and dressed very much like a rock star, she held an electric guitar in her hands and her hair was very wild.

"Someone really famous if they are willing to take their time to make a 15 foot statue of them made of gold," Ash told the girl.

May agreed, but their admiration for the statue ended when their stomachs grumbled. "My stomach's killing me," May sighed and held her stomach.

Ash sighed and held his as well, he examined the area and realized they were at a town square, and the statue was at the center of it, where they stood. The black-haired teen motioned his head and looked around the area, until his eyes began to shine with joy.

When May noticed, she quickly asked, "Ash, what's wrong?" she put on a puzzled look when she questioned.

"The Toscana!" Ash pointed right behind the statue.

May looked to where he was pointing at and her eyes began to shine as well, but the sapphire-eyed girl also clasped her hands together in joy.

They walked past the statue and stood in front of the fancy looking restaurant. The name of the restaurant was in yellow letters and written in script, reading "The Toscana", with the word "the" on top of "Toscana". The style of the building was very French-like, which made the couple believe that it might be a fancy restaurant.

"Well, we've walked all this way, let's go inside!" May cheered and grabbed Ash by his hand, pulling him and rushing into the restaurant. Ash got caught off guard, but went right behind her; he was just as hungry as she was.

When they entered they became surprised by how fancy it was, many of the customers were dressed in tuxedos and dresses, the waiters wore the traditional uniform, but they just made the place look even fancier. There were a couple of plants and the primary color of the building was red, at one of the corners of the restaurant, a band was playing smooth jazz, people were laughing, talking, and some even seemed to be doing business. At the far back area of the restaurant was a bar where a couple of men could be seen sitting in their suits and drinking. It all seemed very formal to them.

"This isn't what I was expecting," Ash felt lost in this high-class looking restaurant.

"I know. I didn't expect Nurse Joy to send us to a place like this. She could've told us we needed to dress more appropriately, I feel like a white rose sticking out among red roses," the sapphire-eyed girl wished she had been better prepared.

"Good afternoon sir and ma'am, how may I serve you today?" A waiter appeared in front of Ash and May, speaking with a very elegant tone.

"Could we get a table for two, please?" Ash asked politely, still uneasy about the whole setting though.

"Of course, right this way," the waiter said and the couple followed behind them.

As they walked, May couldn't help but look at all the meals. True to Nurse Joy's words though, the food looked delicious, _all this food is making me hungry, I can't wait to eat, _May couldn't help but let a little saliva drip. Luckily no one had seen and she wiped it away, embarrassed by her manners.

When she and Ash reached a small, nice table, the waiter pulled their chairs back and they sat down. The waiter gave them two menus, which were made of red leather and the name of the restaurant was on the cover, written in the same style as the sign outside.

"I'll return in five minutes to know your orders. If you have any trouble just let me or one of the waiters know and we will come to your service," the waiter said and left without another word.

Ash and May opened their menus and saw a wide array of foods to choose from. "All this stuff looks good huh May?" Ash read through the menu and looked at the snapshots of food, almost causing his mouth to water.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I'll order, what about you?" May lowered her menu to look at Ash.

"Hmmmm, I think I'll have…..a bacon cheeseburger and some spaghetti, I'm starving, so I think two plates are good enough for me," Ash chuckled with his menu lowered to look at May.

May giggled and looked at her menu, "I think I'll have two plates too, the question is what I should have? Hmmmmm…." May kept looking until she finally came across two things, "Ok, I think I know what'll eat. I'll have BBQ ribs and Filet Mignon."

"That sounds good, guess all we have to do now is choose our drinks, how does two orange sodas sound?" Ash questioned the sapphire-eyed girl.

"That's fine," May grinned.

"Great, now we'll just wait for the guy to get here so we can order and finally eat," Ash placed his menu on the table and smiled at May.

May nodded and did the same. They both had their hands on the table and May reached over for Ash's and the two intertwined their fingers, they both smiled at each other lovingly, the smooth jazz music fitting the mood. "You know Ash; we haven't gone out to eat at a restaurant just the two of us since we left Pallet Town. It feels nice to be doing this again, but the best part about it is that it's with you," May gave Ash her sweetest gaze.

"I'm glad we could spend this time alone again too, we don't have the same time to do this type of stuff like we did in Pallet and the nicest part is sharing the moment with you too," Ash caressed her hand gently and flashed her a sweet smile and looked directly into her gentle sapphire eyes with his warm auburn eyes.

"If you keep this up Ash, I reward in a way you can't even imagine by the time we're older," May winked playfully, getting into her flirty mode.

Ash blushed at her playfulness, knowing exactly what she meant, but he just continued caressing her hand. "After this, we'll go back to the Pokémon Center and get Pikachu, Victini and the others is that ok?" Ash asked the brunette.

"Sounds good to me," May smiled, but her face then put on a thinking look and she said, "I wonder how Victini is doing; I hope he's doing ok."

Ash smiled and spoke, "I'm sure he's doing fine, after the talk with him, he looked much better and he's with Pikachu, so no worries."

Feeling reassured, May smiled and caressed Ash's hand. _He always knows what to say at the right time. _

"Ma'am, sir, are you ready to order?" the waiter from earlier returned like he said.

"You bet, I'll have a bacon cheeseburger and spaghetti," Ash said, smiling since he was eager to eat.

The waiter wrote it down on his notepad and then shifted his stare to May, "What will you be having ma'am?"

"I'll have BBQ ribs and filet mignon please," May grinned, just as eager as Ash to eat.

"And as for drinks?" the waiter looked at both of them.

"We'll have two orange sodas," Ash informed the guy.

"Very good sir, I will return shortly," the waiter finished taking notes and walked away.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Ash inquired.

"Not long, I hope," May grinned sheepishly, wishing she would also know how long they'd have to wait for the food.

Before Ash could say anything though, he noticed the jazz music stopped and one of the players of the jazz band spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be taking a short break. For now enjoy the televisions placed around the restaurant."

When he finished talking, the screens of the TVs that were hung all over the restaurant were on and punk rock music began playing. On the screen, there was a woman playing on the electric guitar and it seemed like she was in the middle of guitar solo.

May and Ash looked at the TV that was nearest to them and they became amazed by how well the woman was able to play. "How do you think she does it? She plays really well," May continued to watch the screen.

As Ash watched, he quickly realized something, "May, isn't that the woman we saw a statue of outside?"

The brunette began to wonder and analyzed the girl carefully, her hair was similar and the design of her guitar was exactly like that of the statue outside, "I think it is Ash. I wonder who she is, but looks like we found out the reason why they made a statue of her," May said, pointing out the musician's talent once again.

Ash nodded in agreement, the girl on the screen sure knew how to play it. Their admiration for the guitarist got cut when the voice of a man interrupted their train of thought. "That my friends, is Roxie," the voice said.

"Who?" Ash and May asked simultaneously when they saw a man right behind May's chair.

He had sunglasses hanging beneath his eyes, his hair was shoulder-length, and he had a moustache, his hair color could be identified as dirty blond. The man moved from behind May's chair to in front of their table so both could take a good look at him.

"Who are you?" Ash asked the man.

"Please forgive me, where are my manners. I am Mr. Gold, pleasure to meet you," Mr. Gold smiled at the pair.

"Likewise, I'm May from the Hoenn region," May smiled and greeted the man politely.

"And I'm Ash, from Pallet Town in Kanto," Ash introduced himself politely to the man as well.

Mr. Gold adjusted his sunglasses a bit and grinned, "My, my, you come from very faraway places, but I welcome you to Virbank City, Ash and May."

"Thank you," the couple answered at the same time.

"So as I was telling you before, that brilliant musician playing on TV right now is Roxie," Mr. Gold told them.

"Who's Roxie?" Ash and May inquired again at the same time.

"Seeing as how you're foreigners, I'm not surprised; her fame is only highly defined here in Unova. Roxie is the biggest celebrity musician in Virbank and one of the most well-known in all of Unova. She was born here and is adored by the townsfolk, heck she's even more famous than that Kardashian fellow your generation rambles on about," Mr. Gold stated.

Ash and May ignored the last comment, since they didn't even know who Mr. Gold was even talking about, but they fascinated by the amount of popularity Roxie had. "You know come to think of it, I did see some shops selling purple shirts with the name "Roxie" written on it like a lightning bolt and even saw some people wearing them," May recalled seeing from of the people of Virbank selling and wearing shirts about Roxie.

"I saw posters with the name 'Roxie' on them too and they specific dates for concerts and stuff. There were even people with the same rock star haircut that she has, I thought it was just because they all liked having the same haircut, but I didn't know it was because of a celebrity," Ash stated what he saw that referenced or was an allusion to Roxie.

"Goes to show that celebrities dominate this city, they are loved by one and all," Mr. Gold said, smiling as he said it.

Before anyone could say something else, the waiter arrived with a tray that had Ash and May's food and drinks. "Bon appetite," the waiter placed the food and drinks on the table beside the napkins and condiments.

"Thank you," Ash and May grinned at the waiter.

The waiter merely bowed and left. With his bacon cheeseburger with fries and spaghetti in front of him, Ash wasted no time in digging in like a ravenous beast and dirtying himself. May reacted the same way with her BBQ ribs and filet mignon, she carved into the meat of both plates with her fork and knife, it was like she had never tasted food before. Meanwhile, Mr. Gold and the other people nearby couldn't help but feel repulsed and embarrassed by how the teens ate. They all ignored the sounds of their eating and continued their conversations. Ash and May seemed oblivious to it all though and when they realized that Mr. Gold was still there, they gave the man ashamed looks.

"We're sorry, we haven't had a decent meal for a few days," May grinned sheepishly while taking a piece of her filet mignon.

"We've been starving," Ash also smiled sheepishly as he got shoved a meatball into his mouth and then took a bite of his burger with some fries alongside that.

Mr. Gold laughed nervously and spoke, "There's no problem at all with that, but would you like me to continue or shall I leave and let you eat in peace?"

"No, please, tell us more," May insisted as she took a bite of her rib, the sauce dirtying the corners of her mouth.

"We'd love to hear more about Roxie," Ash ate some of the spaghetti noodles.

"Very well," Mr. Gold grinned and spoke, "There's one other thing that makes Roxie such a hit with the people of Unova, besides being a talented musician."

"What would that be?" Ash picked up a meatball with his fork and prepared to eat it whole.

"She's the formidable Virbank City Gym Leader," Mr. Gold said and although he said it with a very normal tone, the news shocked the couple.

Ash nearly choked on his meatball as he tried to swallow it while May's jaw dropped after taking a sip of her soda. Ash pushed the meatball down with all his might and when he was successful he let out a deep breath and yelled, "Virbank gym leader!"

Ash's scream caused a crowd of attention to turn to him and he had a shameful look on his face. May also felt uncomfortable with all those eyes gazing at them while Mr. Gold sighed in discomfiture, Ash chuckled nervously and motioned his hands back and forth, speaking, "It's ok, sorry for my outburst, you can all go back to eating, it won't happen again."

After the Pallet boy said that, they all returned to their business and the couple continued speaking with Mr. Gold. "So you were saying?" Ash chuckled with a sheepish grin on.

"Yes, Roxie is the gym leader here and her skill has given her a reputation as a powerful trainer. Many trainers prefer to have her as their final opponent when it comes to getting their last badge," Mr. Gold gave some facts about Roxie as a trainer.

Ash stood up from his chair and was careful not to yell it out this time, "Then I'm going to challenge Roxie, I've been waiting to get my next badge," the raven-haired teen got a confident smile on.

"So you're a Pokémon trainer?" Mr. Gold raised an eyebrow, surprised by the news.

"You bet and my next challenge is Roxie, I'm going to see how powerful she really is," Ash made a fist of confidence as he spoke.

"You already have seven badges?" Mr. Gold raised his eyebrow again.

"No, I only have three, but just because I don't, doesn't mean that I can't win," the auburn-eyed continued to flash his confident grin.

"Ash, are you sure about this?" May got up from her chair and asked her boyfriend.

Ash grinned at her and responded, "Definitely, I'm in it to win it." The boy then winked at her.

May let out a deep breath and smiled, _typical Ash, never caring about how big the challenge is, guess it's another one of the endless reasons why I love him. _The girl began to blush a little and reached for Ash's hand, the boy noticed and smiled at her.

"Thanks May," Ash grinned, knowing what May meant by holding his hand.

Mr. Gold smiled and nodded, "Well then Ash, you've showed up at the perfect time."

"What do you mean?" Ash had a baffled look on.

"Well, I'm not your average Joe. You see, I'm the mayor of Virbank City, owner of Pokéstar Studios, and producer and director of major films," Mr. Gold chuckled after revealing who he is.

"Whoa, that's amazing," Ash became immediately impressed by Mr. Gold.

"Looks like everyone here is a celebrity," May said with a stunned tone.

"But what do you mean that I showed up at the right time?" Ash asked Mr. Gold.

"You see the next film I'm working on is a documentary about Roxie. It is about her beginnings, her struggles, her recognition, greatness, skill as a trainer and gym leader, and I've been waiting for a trainer with enough spunk to challenge her so I may use it as film material for my documentary," Mr. Gold explained to Ash.

"Wait, so you're going to film my battle with Roxie and put it in your movie?" Ash asked, trying to the details together.

"That's right, I've been waiting for a trainer with enough skill and confidence to battle Roxie and I must say, I haven't met anyone who has fit that qualification up until now, you're the perfect challenger for Roxie and you're going to make my film a hit, Ash," Mr. Gold spoke with a confident tone.

"Sounds good to me," Ash smiled at Mr. Gold while making his fist.

"Ash, you're going to be in a movie, that's awesome," May clasped her hands together, almost jealous about it.

"May, you may be in it as well as one of Ash's supporters," Mr. Gold offered May the chance to star in his film.

"Oh wow, really, that'll be great, thank you," May smiled at Mr. Gold. The brunette then looked at Ash and the boy looked back, they both chuckled and smiled at the idea of being in a movie together.

"Perfect, why don't we discuss more of this while I give you a tour of the town, you two appeared to have already finished your meals," Mr. Gold said and looked behind them to see napkins everywhere, empty glasses, and plates, the only thing left on them was bones.

Mr. Gold walked past the couple and noticed the receipt, "Look, the waiter was even kind enough to just leave the receipt, why don't I pay for this?" Mr. Gold suggested.

"Wait no, that wouldn't be fair, it's not like you had any," Ash stopped the man for reaching for his wallet. When Ash picked up the receipt, his eyes were wide and the boy flipped backward and landed hard on the ground like a statue.

"How much is it?" May got the receipt from Ash's hand and froze when she saw it. "Wow, we really need to be more careful with our expenses," May giggled nervously.

* * *

"Thanks again for paying for our bill, there's no way we could have even paid with our money combined," Ash thanked Mr. Gold while grinning shamefacedly.

"Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't shown up," May added to what Ash said as they the trio walked through Virbank City.

"It wasn't a problem at all kids, you're already doing me the favor of being in my film," Mr. Gold grinned at them.

While May and Ash continued to hold hands, Ash asked, "So Mr. Gold, how are you going to plan it?"

"I've been planning this documentary for a year. I've had my employees do research on her, I've had interviews with her, Roxie is a good friend of mine and she was even nice enough to share some of the more major details about her life that none are aware about. The only major element left to this film is a dynamic battle, Ash would you please do me the large favor of giving this battle the best you've got?" Mr. Gold talked to Ash about his film.

"You bet, I won't you down," Ash grinned with a confident tone.

"Thank you lad, I can't thank you enough. How would you like me to repay you?" Mr. Gold asked the messy-haired teen.

Ash smiled and quickly replied, "Nothing, you already paid for our food and you're making May and I a part of your film. I think you've done us enough favors."

"Ash, with the attitude you've displayed today, I have no doubt in mind that says this won't be a great battle and with a great battle, I know a great documentary shall be forged," Mr. Gold's tone showed that he was very confident in Ash and his abilities.

May then came into the conversation, "Mr. Gold, what films have you made? I'm curious; I might have watched some when I was a little girl."

"Being an old man has given me a long career in film. Among my most notable films are 'Pokémon Ranger and the Sea Princess,' 'Zoroark and the Mystery of Lucario,' 'Pokéformers', 'Triassic Park,' and 'Schlimder's List'," Mr. Gold mentioned.

"I saw 'Pokémon Ranger and the Sea Princess' and 'Schlimder's List' when I was a younger. I cried in both movies, I couldn't believe how they ended," May began to have nostalgia as she talked about the movies she watched as a little girl.

"Yes well, it is a result of years of experience. Both movies even helped me win my two academy awards, which is the most prestigious award any person in the film industry can win," Mr. Gold stated.

"I saw 'Pokéformers' and 'Triassic Park' when I was younger, I thought they were incredible. Where do you guys get such giant Pokémon for your movies?" Ash also began to have nostalgia of his childhood.

"Both films were a major box office success and it was only possible with hard work Ash, hard work has given me everything I have today," Mr. Gold chuckled.

Ash and May smiled, they couldn't believe that they were now walking alongside the man who was responsible for a part of their childhoods. "But enough about me, tell me more about you two, your origins, achievements, etc," Mr. Gold said.

"I grew up in Petalburg City with my dad Norman, who is also the Petalburg Gym Leader, my brother Max, and my mom Caroline. When I turned ten, I went on my journey and pursued a career in coordinating. In my first Grand Festival I got into the Top 8, in my second one I got Top 4, and in the last one I participated in, I won," May smiled, shortening her origins, career and life as a coordinator into just several words.

"That is very impressive; I assume you are competing in the Grand Festival here?" Mr. Gold asked the girl.

"That's right and I'm going to win," May spoke with a confident tone.

"Just the kind of spirit I like to see and what about you Ash?" Mr. Gold asked the auburn-eyed boy.

"I just grew up with mom in Pallet Town. When I turned ten, I set out on my journey with a Pikachu and together we fought many battles and made many friends. When I first competed in a Pokémon League I got into the Top 16, then in the Johto League I got into the Top 8, in the Hoenn League, I reached Top 8 too, and in the Sinnoh League I placed in the Top 4. I also participated in the Orange League and Battle Frontier, and I was able to win both. And now I'm here in Unova, ready to conquer the Unova League," Ash smiled confidently, reminiscing about his past for a second.

"Most impressive, I look forward to both of your performances when the Unova League and Grand Festival begin. There's one thing I'm curious about though," Mr. Gold complimented Ash, but then expressed further curiosity.

"What's that?" Ash and May questioned simultaneously.

"How did the lovely couple meet and come together?" Mr. Gold chuckled, acknowledging the fact that the pair was a couple.

Ash and May began to blush red and smiled at each other sweetly. Ash was the first to speak, "May and I met when I first traveled to Hoenn and she was just starting out on her journey. At first she was insecure about herself and had a difficult time cooperating with her Pokémon, I helped her in whatever way I could so she could improve and when she became interested in contests, I supported her all the way and practiced at every moment I could. We traveled Hoenn and Kanto together and gradually formed a strong bond between us."

"After we finished traveling through Kanto, I decided to travel on my own to Johto, but the feeling wasn't the same anymore. Ash was in Sinnoh and I was in Johto, we missed each other very deeply, and were temporarily reunited in Sinnoh for a competition. But after that ended, that feeling returned and it just wasn't the same without Ash. We finally reunited again in Pallet Town after finishing our travels and it was during that time we spent together, we realized we were in love with each other, although it did take some time because there was another boy who liked me and Ash was pretty dense about love at the time. When we did get together though, we decided to travel together again, and this time to Unova," May recounted the rest and giggled, making Ash sigh, but then smiling affectionately at her.

"Such a marvelous romance, it would make for a remarkable film," Mr. Gold thought about it, liking the idea.

Ash and May began to blush again when they heard Mr. Gold's idea, but shrugged it enough, not believing their love life would be put up on the big screen.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing interrupted the conversation and it turned out to be Mr. Gold's phone. The man quickly answered and spoke, "Yes, hello?"

Mr. Gold walked away from the couple so he could talk and Ash and May were left thinking about the past. "We have a long history, don't we May?" Ash smiled as he recounted many important moments in his life involving May.

"And we have a longer history coming right at us," May smiled at Ash. The two then hugged each other tenderly and felt at peace, the ruckus of Virbank City, the paparazzi, and any other nuisance became oblivious to them as they hugged.

May couldn't feel more secure than being Ash's arms and Ash couldn't feel happier than having his arms wrapped around May.

"Sorry to interrupt your sweet moment kids, but I have to go. It was a pleasure meeting both of you and I'll see both of you at the gym when your match begins, Ash," Mr. Gold informed them.

Ash nodded and replied, "We'll be waiting."

"I look forward to our next meeting, till then you two," Mr. Gold said and a black limo stopped behind him, surprising Ash and May, they hadn't noticed that the car had been driving up the street they were on.

Mr. Gold entered his limo and waved one last time before driving off. Ash and May stayed behind and stopped waving until the limo was gone. Ash lowered his arm and spoke to May, "Let's head back to the Pokémon Center, Pikachu and Victini must be waiting."

"Let's go," May nodded in agreement.

"Glad to see you guys are still in one piece," a voice said that caused Ash and May to stop in their tracks.

The voice caused Ash and May to smile and they quickly turned around to see who stood in behind them.

**Many references to real world people and things lol. Shorter than my latest chapters and I hope you enjoyed it. Not much went on here, just a typical chapter focusing on Advanceshipping and the growing theme of Ash and May being Victini's parents. Chapter 26 will be up sometime past the weekend, so stay tuned for that. Remember to REVIEW, PM, ETC, your opinions and thoughts always count. Till the next chapter guys! BTW Ash's gym battle with Roxie is in the next chapter so be excited!**


	26. Let's Rock and Roll!

Chapter 26: Pumped Up Kicks

"I still can't explain how great it is to see you guys again," Iris said with a very happy tone as they walked.

"Ax ax axew," Axew added to what Iris said, just as joyful as her trainer about seeing Ash and May again.

"I don't recall any other moment more relieving than this one," Cilan said, expressing his happiness as well.

"We were worried about you guys too, I'm glad both of you are alright," May also felt relieved with Iris and Cilan back again in one piece.

"The first thing we were going to do when we reached Virbank City was call to you guys and find out if you were ok after what happened, but we were also hungry so we decided to eat first," Ash scratched the back of his head while smiling sheepishly, expecting Iris to criticize him, but the raven-haired teen was also very relieved about being reunited with his friends as well.

May also joined Ash and grinned sheepishly, but all Iris and Cilan did were sigh and smile. "We're back together now though, and everyone is safe and sound, that's the important part," Iris smiled at them.

"We honestly thought you might have been killed by Phantom's explosion, there was no trace of any of you, we weren't sure about anything, including if the mission for you guys had been a success or not," Cilan told the pair.

"Did you guys get to meet Victini? How'd you even survive for that matter?" Iris raised an eyebrow, curious about how her friends managed to survive the catastrophe in Castelia City.

"We'll answer that one when we get to the Pokémon Center," May winked at them.

"Why can't you tell us now?" Iris asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Because it'll be easier to explain when we get there," Ash smiled at them, saying it with a polite tone.

"Mind telling us how you guys made it out of there though, and where Roxas, Hilbert, Hilda, and the others are now?" May inquired, awaiting a response from Iris and Cilan.

"We'll explain when we get to the Pokémon Center," Iris told the sapphire-eyed girl with a polite smile.

When Ash and May heard that response, they became slightly annoyed because they believed this was one of Iris's ways of taunting them. Of course Cilan easily noticed and replied, "Don't take it the wrong way, we're not taunting you or anything, it'd just be easier to explain when we get to the Pokémon Center, trust us."

Ash and May believed Cilan's words and thought it'd be best to just wait till they get to the Pokémon Center

* * *

"Welcome back, I hope you two are enjoying your time in Virbank City. Did you try out the restaurant I recommended?" Nurse Joy greeted Ash and May with a smile when she saw them, when they returned, the Virbank Pokémon Center was emptier than before, meaning there were no people.

"We sure have been, thank you Nurse Joy," May thanked the nurse for suggesting the restaurant.

"Virbank City's a cool place, we even learned about some the famous people around, including about Roxie," Ash smiled at the pink-haired woman as he talked.

"I'm so glad, and then you must know that Roxie is the gym leader here, correct?" Nurse Joy asked the auburn-eyed teen.

"Right, and I'm going to challenge her," Ash made a fist of confidence, his words surprising Iris and Cilan.

"May, is Ash really going to challenge Roxie?" Iris questioned the sapphire-eyed girl.

"Does Ash have any idea how tough Roxie is?" Cilan added.

May nodded and giggled, "He does, but that won't stop Ash. He's determined to win and I'm going to encourage him all the way."

May's words gave Iris and Cilan a second thought and they both grinned. "Well then, if Ash is sure about this, then I'll be encouraging him all the way," Cilan grinned.

"And so will I," Iris smiled and jumped.

"In that case, I assume you'll need your Pokémon, here you-," but before Nurse Joy could finish, Pikachu jumped from behind the nurse and landed in Ash's arms.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cheered when he landed in Ash's arms.

"Pikachu!" Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan said simultaneously when the mouse appeared.

"Pipikachu pi!" Pikachu greeted May and smiled happily when he saw Iris, Axew, and Cilan.

"Axew ax!" Axew showed content when Pikachu showed up and greeted the mouse.

"We're glad to see you too Pikachu," Iris giggled at the mouse.

Pikachu turned to Ash and grinned, "Did you hear everything I said about Roxie, buddy?" Ash asked the Pokémon.

"Pi pika pikachu," Pikachu grinned as he got on Ash's right shoulder.

"That's great pal, together we're gonna dominate the Virbank Gym," the raven-haired teen smiled confidently.

"Pikachu," Pikachu returned the confident grin.

"Well here's your other Pokémon you two, and here's V-" but Nurse Joy got cut off again after placing Ash and May's Pokéballs on top of the counter.

"Vi victini v," Victini popped out from behind Nurse Joy and hugged Ash and May, then quickly began to dance around them.

May and Ash smiled happily when they saw Victini in high spirits, "Hey Victini, told you we'd be back," May giggled and grabbed Victini into a hug.

"Vi victini," Victini cooed in May's arms and grinned.

Victini then escaped from May's grasp and stood on her shoulders smiling. She ten snatched the Pokéballs Nurse Joy gave them and placed them in her fanny pack while Ash grabbed his as well.

"Mama, papa," Victini smiled as gazed at Ash and May putting away their Pokéballs.

"I hope you had a nice time with Pikachu and Nurse Joy, Victini, we were thinking about you while we were out and couldn't wait to get back here and see you again," Ash said, beaming at the Victory Pokémon.

"Victini," Victini hovered over to Ash and rubbed its cheek against it.

"Ummmm, you two care to introduce us and explain everything now?" Iris's voice alarmed Ash and May.

Ash and May grinned sheepishly, "Cilan, Iris this is Victini. Victini, this is Iris, Cilan, and Axew, say 'hello'," the raven-haired teen introduced them.

"Axew ax axew," Axew saluted the Fire-type.

"Hey there Victini," Iris also greeted Victini and walked over to pet it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Cilan did the same as Iris, but when they approached Victini, the Victory Pokémon hid behind Ash.

Victini gave them a timid look and said, "Vi victini v."

"Don't worry, it's a little shy because it's only a baby, but in time it'll open up to you," May told Cilan, Iris, and Cilan, seeing the baffled looks on their faces.

"Is this the Victini from Liberty Garden?" Cilan inquired.

"That's right, this is the Victini we saved from Phantom," May tickled Victini under its chin, making it chuckle playfully.

"But how, who, why?" Iris clearly became puzzled.

Ash and May smiled at the girl's confusion, getting amusement out of it, but Ash decided to explain, "We weren't able to stop Phantom when he placed the sword on the stone at the top of the lighthouse and when he placed it, Victini revealed itself. It turned out to be nothing more than an innocent infant. Phantom wasted no time in trying to capture it, but we battled Phantom and did everything to stop him, we almost lost, but Victini loaned Pikachu and Liepard some power to defeat Phantom and as a last resort Phantom used a bomb. Phantom got away and we got cornered, then Victini teleported us just in time and we avoided the disaster. When we woke up we were in the forest, near Virbank City and we agreed on traveling here to contact you guys. Victini decided to tag along after protecting it and considered us its parents or something,"

"That's incredible, this little guy saved your lives," Iris looked at Victini, who hid behind May when it caught Iris's eyes.

"And after everything that's happened, Victini has begun considering you guys as its parents. It's all clear now, although I do wish Victini could understand that Iris and I mean no harm, but I guess that's only because it's an infant," Cilan smiled at Victini, who continued to watch timidly from behind May's head.

May grinned and spoke, "Now care to tell us how you guys made it out of Liberty Garden in one piece?"

"First, you'll have to come with us, it'll be easier to explain," Cilan stated.

"Ummm ok," Ash replied.

"Why can't you tell us here though?" May raised an eyebrow, wondering why Cilan and Iris just couldn't tell them now.

"There's some stuff we'd like for you to hear that we can't explain very well," Iris informed the pair.

Ash and May sighed, becoming impatient but had no choice except follow Cilan and Iris. Victini hid among Ash and May, still very shy to come out in the open with Iris and Cilan around. Pikachu became baffled about where they were being led as they walked through the halls of the Pokémon Center.

Suddenly, Iris and Cilan stopped in front of one of the dorms, the door was closed, but Iris reached for the knob and turned it slowly. "In here," Iris told them as she walked in, Cilan, Ash, May, Pikachu, and Victini followed closely behind

"Why's it dark?" Ash asked as they walked.

"Vi…." Victini became concerned, but May grabbed Victini's little hand to calm it.

Cilan shut the door behind them and then the lights turned on, revealing familiar faces. When Ash, May, and Pikachu saw who stood in front of them, they couldn't help but smile.

On the bed, sitting down were Hilbert and Hilda, smiling joyfully when they saw Ash, May, and Pikachu. In the corner of the room, Roxas and Lucario were leaned against the wall, smirking when they saw Ash and May. Another unfamiliar figure stood in front of them though, he had red and orange hair with purple eyes. He was pretty tall for a man and seemed very muscular. His clothes resembled that of an Indian and he had a friendly smile on his face.

Hilda quickly got off the bed and dashed to hug Ash and May, "Thank goodness the three of you are ok."

"Great to see you too Hilda," Ash smiled as Hilda hugged him and May.

"We were just as worried about you guys," May returned the embrace.

Hilda then separated from Ash and May, smiling at them as she wiped a few tears away from the corner of her eyes. Hilbert then got up and placed his hand on Hilda's shoulder and smiled, "Glad to see you're a-ok," the brunette boy grinned.

"Same goes for you Hilbert," Ash smiled at the other male.

"Good job on finding them Iris, Cilan, there was no doubt in my mind they would be roaming the city," Roxas stopped leaning and walked closer to Ash and May with Lucario, grinning coolly.

"Roxas!" Ash and May cheered when the raven-haired teen walked over to them.

"Pika!" Pikachu also said happily.

"Glad to see the three of you alive and well," Roxas grinned at them.

_It's a relief to see you on your feet,_ Lucario smirked, speaking to them telepathically.

Ash, May, and Pikachu all grinned at the aura pair until May decided to ask something, "Iris and Cilan told us you guys would explain how you got out of the island. What happened with the bad guys and the city after everything that occurred?"

Roxas sighed, wishing to cover any holes before explaining himself, but he respected the girl who questioned him, "At the edge of defeat, Looker's forces arrived in hundreds and took over the island swiftly. Omega, Ghetsis, Colress, and Giovanni's operatives were all forced to retreat, N escaped as well, but we decided to let him go since bigger threats were at large. After that, Trip, Bianca, Auro, Rosa, and Nate returned to Castelia City and assist the people there. Looker, Iris, Cilan, Hilda, Hilbert and I mobilized here in Virbank City to plan out the next phase. Looker left in a rush moments after reaching Virbank, his fellow operatives had called him for an urgent meeting somewhere in East Unova, but we decided to stay and meet up with another ally of mine, care to make the introduction, Alder?" Roxas turned his head back and smiled at Alder.

"With pleasure," Alder walked closer to Ash and May.

While May and Ash's curiosity was finally at ease after Roxas's explanation, Alder approached them and the pair's curiosity resurged, this time regarding who this tall man was. "Hello there, I'm Alder, a friend of Roxas and I've been helping him in the mission to stop the people wreaking havoc in Unova. I also happen to be the Unova League Champion," Alder smiled at the duo and talked with a warm tone.

"Unova League Champion?" May raised an eyebrow, not believing what she heard.

"No way, you must be really strong!" Ash yelled after hearing what Alder said.

Alder chuckled and grinned sheepishly, "I don't know about being strong, but I certainly am the League Champion in this region."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Ash and this is my pal, Pikachu," Ash introduced himself and Pikachu, who grinned at the friendly looking man.

"And I'm May, nice to meet you," May also smiled at the man.

"I know very well who you guys are, your friends talked about you two nonstop when they reached Virbank City, also because I'm aware of the competitions both of you participated in, since a hobby of mine is follow what goes on in the Pokémon League and Grand Festival," Alder continued to grin at them.

"Wow, I didn't know a Pokémon Champion knew we even existed," Ash became amazed by how Alder knew of them prior to meeting.

"That's so cool," May also became amazed about a celebrity figure acknowledging her existence.

Alder chuckled and responded, "You two are more famous than you give yourselves credit for. Especially after the heroism you displayed at Castelia City, since I was there myself sometime after the big attack."

"Which brings us to the big question," Roxas began to talk.

_Did you succeed in stopping Phantom from capturing Victini?_ Lucario asked sternly.

"Oh yeah, I was thinking about that too, were you guys able to stop Phantom?" Hilbert inquired, curious about the event himself.

"The episode at Liberty Garden left us unsure about whether you guys survived or not, how on earth did you escape?" Hilda asked something a question off topic, but regarded Ash and May's confrontation with Phantom.

Iris, Cilan, Ash, May, and Pikachu all couldn't help but chuckle while the others raised their eyebrows in confusion. "Here's the answer to all your questions," May grinned at them, moving away a bit and revealed the small Victory Pokémon, Victini.

When Hilbert, Hilda, and Alder saw the Pokémon, their eyes went wide while Roxas and Lucario smiled. "That's Victini, isn't it? We're not seeing things right?" Hilbert said, not believing a Legendary Pokémon stood in front of him.

"Victini," Victini moved away and hid behind May's head, peeking at the group in front of it, and wondering where all these strange people were coming from.

"It's so cute," Hilda clasped her hands together.

"An adorable, but feisty Pokémon," Alder smiled at Victini, who stared at Alder, Hilbert, and Hilda timidly.

Ash chuckled nervously and spoke, "Sorry guys, Victini is a kind of shy around new people."

"I'm pleased that your mission turned out fine, but how did you convince this little one to leave its home, after all it's just an infant and a shy one," Roxas looked at Victini with interest.

"We didn't really convince it. When Phantom awakened it from its sleep by placing the sword in the stone at the tower and it saw us trying to protect it from Phantom, Victini lent our Pokémon some of its power and we were able to beat that pirate. When Phantom ditched us and left a time bomb behind, Victini was the one who rescued us by teleporting all of us to a forest near Virbank City. It seemed very thankful about us protecting it and decided to come along with Ash, Pikachu, and me. The fact that it's also a baby makes it believe Ash and I are its parents, especially after seeing everything we did to save it," May cleared up any unanswered questions for Roxas, Lucario, Hilbert, Hilda, or Alder.

"This little one is stronger than it appears, it's a good thing it was there to save you from Phantom's madness," Roxas neared May and began to pet Victini, surprisingly, the Fire-type cooed as Roxas touched it.

Ash, May, and the others all became shocked by how Victini let itself get petted by Roxas. Victini continued to coo and gazed at Roxas and Lucario, smiling at both of them with glee.

"Ash, I thought Victini was shy about letting people get near it, aside from you and May," Hilbert commented.

"I guess I was wrong," Ash raised an eyebrow; the auburn-eyed teen became baffled about the way Victini was acting with Roxas and Lucario.

"Let me try" Hilda neared May and tried to pet Victini, but when the Victory Pokémon noticed Hilda, it quickly moved away and hid behind Roxas's head.

Hilda sighed and spoke, "I'm confused."

"Roxas, do you have any idea as to why Victini is so open with you and Lucario?" May inquired, even the mother-like figure of Victini became puzzled.

Roxas grinned as Victini rubbed itself against his cheek. "I don't really know, Lucario and I have always just been good with baby Pokémon, I guess it's like a knack to say the least," Roxas smiled softly as May.

"Very interesting indeed," Cilan placed his fingers underneath is chin.

"I don't get it," Iris was also baffled and placed her left fist underneath her chin.

"I'm sure as Victini grows though; it'll open up to the rest of you in time. Patience is all you need. I know from experience," Alder grinned, cheering up anyone who failed to touch Victini.

The tender moment between Roxas and Victini then stopped when Roxas's face became stern and flashed a small grin at the Fire-type. Victini noticed the change in behavior in Roxas by looking at his face and nodded at Roxas, hovering back to May and holding onto the brunette by her neck.

"What's wrong Roxas, you seem serious?" Ash took note of the change in Roxas's facial expression.

"We can't waste anymore time talking, time is running out and Alder and I have something very important to notify the two of you about, Ash and May," the sapphire-eyed teen's voice became serious.

"What would that be?" May became concerned as Roxas talked.

Roxas then lifted his arm a bit and the control next to the T.V hovered over to his hand. "First take a look at this," Roxas said and turned on the television.

Everyone's motioned the television, including Pikachu, Axew, and Victini's. What appeared on the T.V shocked Ash and May's eyes; there on the screen was a live broadcast of Castelia City with the words "Breaking News" written in red at the bottom part of the T.V.

The news reporter on the helicopter talked with a very worried voice, "Yes Joe, half of Castelia City is in ruins in what appears to be the result of a terrorist attack provoked by the local criminal organizations known as Team Neo Plasma and Team Plasma. Of course there are reports that they weren't alone, a mysterious group of men in black coats were sighted and so was the Kanto-based criminal organization known as Team Rocket."

The helicopter moved around Castelia City and many of the buildings were clearly emitting smoke, the streets below were destroyed, people were being gathered by the police and many other police forces were running around the streets, capturing any lurking grunt and trying to bring back order to the broken city.

"The reason behind this destruction remains in mystery. The devastating effects of this conflict ended with the demise of the beloved Liberty Tower at the center of Castelia City and the havoc reached all the way to Liberty Garden, with the top portion of the lighthouse being blown to bits," the news reporter talked as loud as possible so the sounds of the chopper wouldn't interfere with his speaking.

Liberty Garden then appeared on the screen and some black gray smoke rose up from the lighthouse while down below, many police forces were guarding the island as more police boats arrived. "Yes sir, today's disaster will go down in Unova history as one of the worst crimes against humanity. The amount of people and Pokémon wounded and dead is phenomenal, with 5.000 reported dead and at least half of that number injured. Blasts at the city's center were reported some time yesterday at around noon and the battle in the city continues with many police officers struggling to round-up any wounded or arrest remaining criminal forces. Thankfully, Professor Juniper, the Gym Leader Burgh, and some of their allies gave great aid to people under the chaos when the attack was launched. The top priority after Castelia City recovers from this incident though will be tracking down all of those responsible behind the mayhem demonstrated upon Unova's most beloved city."

With that said, the news reporter stopped talking and images of firefighters and police officers were shown trying to protect people from the hazardous fires and take them to safety. Some police forces were even shown combating against Plasma or Rocket operatives. Women and children clearly seemed frightened and at the brink of tears as half of their city fell into ruin. Another snapshot was shown, of the Liberty Tower collapsing in front of the eyes of many, fear extremely blatant in the citizens of Castelia City.

Roxas then turned off the television and turned back to May and Ash. "That is only the beginning of the destruction those people you battled against will unleash in this region and then everywhere else. Ash…May…with Victini awakened and the Majestic 12 now in the spotlight with Team Neo Plasma and Team Rocket, they are going to viciously go after the two of you and Victini. The power you displayed against them in Castelia City has given them a reason to fear you, and with Victini under our wing, they are even more paranoid and will stop at nothing to crush all of us, but especially the both of you because you are the reason behind the failure of their operation."

Ash and May's faces quickly became saddened and frowned at every word they heard from Roxas. "The stakes are much higher now, and you're in even greater danger. You barely survived in the battle at Castelia City and if it weren't for Victini, I'd hate to imagine what would've happened, so in order for the two of you to get stronger and protect yourselves, I have two tasks assigned for you."

When they heard this Ash and May became interested, but they had puzzled looks on, "What are they?" May asked the sapphire-eyed teen.

"On Route 19, Auro, Nate, and Rosa are waiting for you with Victini. You must go meet them there, Route 19 is just west of here, the purpose behind this travel is in order to protect yourself from the Majestic 12 or anyone else, you're skills must improve. The three of them will train you for some time when you reach Route 19 and they'll make you go through some very strenuous trials so be prepared," Roxas said with a commanding tone.

At first, the pair remained uncertain and the couple exchanged unsure gazes. They then looked at Victini, who got confused as to what the humans were talking and thinking about. The duo looked back at each other and nodded and gave Roxas a serious nod. "We'll go to Route 19 and meet up with them, we know the training is so can protect ourselves and others, so it's for our own good and we know it'd help a lot on our journey," Ash's stern stare became a friendly one and the auburn-eyed teen grinned confidently.

"We won't let you down, we'll train as hard as we can," May grinned at the black-haired teen in the black coat.

Lucario and Roxas smirked and nodded, but before they could say anything they got cut off by Iris, "And we'll them out too!"

"That's right, we're with Ash and May all the way," Cilan crossed his arms and smiled.

"Very well, but there is still one more task you must know of, I'll let Alder explain this one to you since it is his assignment and the reason he came to Virbank City," Roxas said and stepped aside with Lucario, letting Alder take the spotlight again.

Alder nodded and walked a little closer to Ash and May, "My dear friends, the mission I have for you is a little more critical because it is key in stopping the criminals plaguing Unova… I need you to travel to Aspertia City, which is just past Route 19, when you reach there I need you to retrieve an item from a good friend of mine named Cheren. Once you have it under your possession, please take good care of it, if you lose the object, we'll have a big problem on our hands. If you are successful, I can guarantee a battle for both of you against me." The Champion smiled warmly when he said the last statement.

"Really, that would be so cool!" Ash made a fist and grinned eagerly when he heard Alder talk about a possible battle between them.

May also seemed excited and smiled, but she had a question regarding the mission, "What is the item we have to get though?"

Alder chuckled at Ash's reaction, but gained his composure to answer May, "Forgive me, it's 'items', and they are four drives of high value. They were stolen from Team Plasma a couple of weeks ago by some agents of ours that were led by Cheren, but did not have the time to get them from him because of the plot for Castelia City. When you have these drives, you must leave Aspertia City as soon as possible and return to Castelia City where we shall meet up again, I'll know what to do with the drives by then."

Ash and May nodded, fully acknowledging the task at hand. "By the way, Ash, May, mind telling Cheren, Hilda and Hilbert said 'hello', Cheren is a good friend of ours. We'll treat you like you're at home when you get there," Hilbert informed Ash and May.

"Of course," Ash and May said at the same time.

A thought then struck Ash and had baffled stare when it him, "Alder, what are those drives for anyway?"

Alder gave them a forgiving look and said, "I wish I could tell you, bu-"

The man was cut by Roxas, "You'll find out when you meet Cheren," the raven-haired teen said strictly.

Ash and May looked disappointed after hearing Roxas, nonetheless, they didn't insist on receiving an answer. "By the way, after you have finished your training with Auro, Nate, and Rosa, I can guarantee you'll understand a little more about anything that is going on. Any questions regarding who I am, or who Auro, Nate, Rosa are. might be answered and you'll probably learn a bit more as to why the Majestic 12 and their allies hunt you down the way they do." Roxas let the couple know, but Ash and May simply nodded, wishing they could understand this whole situation better before going out of their way to save a whole region.

"I still have one more though," Ash told Roxas with a serious tone.

Roxas sighed and questioned, "What may that be?"

"I have a battle with Roxie today, may I do not before leaving Virbank City?" the raven-haired teen asked the boy who looked like him.

Hilbert and Hilda raised their eyebrows when they heard Ash, while Roxas and Alder smirked. "Ash, do you really want to do that now? Roxie is more powerful than you think," Hilbert warned Ash, concerned about his rival.

"I'm positive, nothing is going to hold me back from this battle," Ash smiled confidently.

"That's the spirit Ash, I wish you best of luck in your upcoming gym battle," Alder grinned at Ash and soon everyone else grinned at Ash as a form of encouraging Ash to battle Roxie, including Hilbert.

"Roxie is an exceptional Pokémon Trainer, she'd be good practice for you before you battle any serious opponents," Roxas smiled at Ash.

When the other teens heard Roxas they froze, knowing that the teen was implying about even stronger opponents lurking out there. "I'm ready," Ash seemed unfazed by his statement and continued to smile with pride.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu joined Ash and displayed his confidence.

May, Iris, Cilan, Hilbert, Hilda, all grinned at Ash's confidence and admired the boy's determination and self-belief. _That's my boyfriend, _May shared her thought with Victini and the two of them smiled at the boy dear to them.

The girl's thoughts were then cut when she noticed Roxas looking at her, the brunette looked at him and Roxas began to talk, "If you're interested in winning your next ribbon, there is a town on Route 20 holding a contest and another competition when you reach Flocessy Town, which is between Route 20 and Route 19."

"Really, that's great, thank you for telling us," May smiled and thanked Roxas.

Roxas grinned at May and shook his head slightly up and down, making Ash a little jealous, but quickly shook it off. "So you'll get a chance to explore my hometown, Flocessy Town, do me a favor, if you see my grandson, he looks a lot like me, including the hair color, tell him grandpa says 'hi'. His name is Benga," Alder told Ash and May.

Ash and May were starting to feel like messengers with all these assignments, but they were still happy to do it for their friends, "Sure Alder," Ash informed the champ, who nodded and grinned as a way of thanking them.

_Roxas, it is time to go, _Lucario told Roxas.

Roxas nodded and spoke, "And so it is."

"It was a pleasure meeting all of you, believe me, I wish all of you good luck out there," Alder stood in front of the teens and spoke very warmly to all of them.

Iris, Cilan, Hilbert, Hilda, Pikachu, Ash, and May beamed at Alder and bobbed their heads up and down. Victini was the only one who remained shy and hid behind Ash and May. Then Roxas's voice instantly caught their attention though, "Ash, May, Pikachu, I know that Victini is comfortable around the two of you, it considers the three of you its family. Promise me, you'll raise it well; Victini will also need to be strong and ready for any emergency. If I could I'd take Victini, but by leaving Victini with you, I think it's also a trial about whether you can protect it from harm and raise it to be a strong Pokémon. Victini is a vital member to this team now, take care of it…..like if it were your actual child," Roxas's voice became very stern and it seemed as though it hurt the sapphire-eyed boy to tell Ash and May to take care of it like if it was their own.

Understanding the emotion in Roxas's words, Ash and May nodded obediently and smiled. "We can promise you that we will," May grinned at Roxas as she scratched Victini's chin with her hand as the Victory Pokémon sat on May's shoulder.

"Let's meet again soon," Ash stretched his hand out to Roxas.

Roxas smiled and took his hand out of his pocket and shook it. Much to Ash's surprise, he felt something metallic in his hands and when Roxas let out, he became surprised by what he found in his hand. "The halves of the Terracotta Ribbon," Ash looked at them broken item and then at Roxas, May walked over to him and examined the pieces as well.

"Where'd you get them?" May inquired.

"When you disappeared at Liberty Garden, that was all we found, I thought you might've wanted to them back, but looks like you didn't even realize they were missing," Roxas smiled at the pair.

Ash and May grinned sheepishly and got their halves of the ribbon. "Thank you Roxas, you don't know how much the halves of these ribbons mean to us," Ash told Roxas.

"I think I have a pretty good idea," Roxas chuckled.

Ash and May tilted their heads a bit, confused by Roxas's words, but decided to let it go and they just smiled. "Take care, you're only a little older than us, so you still need to be careful," May said to the raven-haired boy.

Roxas gave May a thumbs up and took one last look of a smiling Ash, May, Pikachu, and Victini. He then waved goodbye to Iris, Cilan, Hilbert, Hilda, and Axew, who all wished him well also. Lucario merely smiled at the group of teens and turned his back on them like Alder and Roxas. Suddenly, a white portal appeared from nowhere and Alder, Roxas, and Lucario walked through it, disappearing from the teens' sight and the portal closed.

"There they go, that Lucario and Roxas are such a mystery," Iris commented.

"We'll meet them again soon, we have to," Ash smiled and turned around to face all of his friends.

"I guess now you're going to head off to the Virbank Gym aren't you, Ash?" Hilbert asked the auburn-eyed teen.

"You bet, and after that we'll stop by the contest competitions on our way to Aspertia City, so May can compete," Ash smiled, shifting his eyes to May. The brunette and Victini looked back at Ash and smiled.

"Great, I'll see if I can compete in any of those contests as well," Hilda placed her hands on her hips and grinned confidently.

"I can't wait to compete again," May remarked, eager to continue her coordinator adventure after everything that has happened.

"Let's not waste anymore time in here though, there's a lot of work to get done, right Pikachu?" Ash made a fist and beamed at his yellow pal.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and smiled with poise

"I wish Hilda and I could stay here and watch your battle, Ash, but Roxas kind of also gave us a mission," Hilbert informed Ash.

"No way, what mission?" May questioned the brunette male.

Hilda grinned awkwardly and answered, "We'd like to tell you, but Roxas made us promise that we wouldn't tell anyone."

"Oh," May sighed and then so did Ash.

"This mystery stuff is really starting to confuse me," Ash said with a disappointed tone. The boy then grinned and lifted his head, "Don't worry though, we understand."

"Just be careful you two," May told Hilbert and Hilda.

"We will," the Unova pair replied simultaneously.

"Here's some snacks for you in case you get hungry on the road," Cilan handed the pair a plastic container with food inside.

"Gee thanks Cilan," Hilbert smiled at his friend.

"Hope to see you soon," Iris said to the brunette duo.

Hilda and Hilbert nodded at Iris and Hilda said one final thing, "Good luck with everything."

"Have a good victory at the gym Ash," Hilbert smiled at his rival.

"Thanks you two, we'll see you soon," Ash said to them and with that, Hilbert and Hilda waved goodbye and so did Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Axew until they left the room.

Victini let out a sigh of relief when they left, now feeling much more comfortable with fewer people around, but remained timid around Iris and Cilan. The departure of their friends left the group in silence until Cilan spoke, "We should head to the Virbank Gym. Time's wasting."

"We have a friend waiting there so we have to hurry," May informed Iris and Cilan.

"What friend?" Iris inquired, the girl was clearly baffled.

"You'll see," Ash smirked at Iris. Without another word they dashed out of the room and out of the Pokémon Center while saying goodbye to Nurse Joy. Their next destination was the Virbank City Gym.

* * *

"Whoa!" Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan screamed simultaneously when they saw a large crowd of people gathered in front of the Virbank Gym with posters and banners of Roxie.

"There are hundreds of them," Iris became frightened by the sight.

"They're all supporters of Roxie," Cilan stated.

"How are we going to get past that, look at them," Ash said, staring at the crowd with people talking, cheering, screaming, and waving their posters and banners in the air like if it were a jungle.

"I'm worried about Victini, Ash," May pointed out something very important.

Ash, Iris, Cilan, Axew, and Pikachu all turned to Victini, who was clearly the most afraid of the huge crowd of people waiting ahead. "Vi vi," Victini shook as it held onto May's neck.

"That's right, we can't let anyone see Victini, we have to hide him if we want to go in," Ash said, recommending an idea.

"How though?" Iris asked with a perplexed look.

"Pikachu pi pika," Pikachu told Ash while standing on its shoulder.

"That could work Pikachu," Ash murmured and then turned to May, "May, why don't we hide it in my backpack?"

"Let's see what Victini thinks, what do you say Victini?" May turned around to look at Victini.

"Victini vi," Victini looked at the backpack and then at May. The Fire-type quickly shook its head sideways angrily.

"Guess that's not an option," Cilan sighed.

"Ax axew ax," Axew suggested to Iris.

"That might work," Iris smiled and then turned to her friends, "What if Victini hides in my hair?"

When Victini heard Iris it quickly pressed up against May and hugged her. "That's not another option either," Ash let out a deep breath.

Another thought struck Ash and the boy snapped his fingers, "Maybe Victini can hide under one of shirts!"

Victini heard Ash and thought about it for a second, and without warning, the Victory Pokémon went underneath May's black shirt. The feeling of his Victini's fur pressed up against her skin made the brunette uncomfortable and she blushed heavily.

"No, it looks too awkward," Ash placed his fingers underneath his chin and became slightly frustrated.

May resembled a pregnant woman with Victini hiding underneath her shirt and after Ash said it wouldn't work, she swiftly pulled the Fire-type out. "Victini vi?" Victini gave May a sad look.

"No Victini, not there, sorry," May gave Victini an annoyed look.

"V…." Victini lowered its head in sadness.

May then smiled sweetly at Victini and embraced it, "Don't worry, we'll find a way to get you in."

"Victini vi v," Victini looked sad in May's arms until its blue eyes began to glisten with happiness and a large smile formed. Victini separated from May and spoke, "Victini victini," Victini looked at Ash and May.

"What's going to do?" Ash became confused.

All of a sudden, Victini's body disappeared and the Victory Pokémon was out of sight. "Where'd it go?" May's eyes widened and the sapphire-eyed girl became worried.

"Could it have teleported?" Iris asked.

"I doubt Victini would leave off like that with Ash and May behind," Cilan pointed out.

"V vi," Victini's voice was heard and the next moment, Ash's hat began to levitate.

"What, what's going on?" Ash's eyes widened when it saw what was happening.

Victini then revealed itself, holding Ash's hat in its tiny hand. The Fire-type chuckled and placed the hat back on Ash's head. "Victini, I didn't know you could turn invisible," Ash smiled at Victini, discovering yet another one of its many abilities.

"Then that's how Victini can get in, it can turn invisible," May grinned, realizing what Victini was trying to tell them.

"Great idea Victini," Ash turned to Victini and praised it.

Victini smiled and hugged Ash while rubbing its cheek against Ash's. "Perfect, now with that settled, all we have to do is get through that crowd of fans," Iris stated and the others bobbed their heads.

"Victini!" Victini cheered and became invisible again.

With that solved, the group walked into no man's land. The crowd instantly noticed them and glared at their presence. A very chubby man in a red shirt and blue headband approached them and talked with a very menacing voice, "Which one of you is Roxie's challenger?"

"That would be me," Ash made a fist and grinned boldly.

"Did you hear that everyone, this is the punk!" the man pointed at Ash while yelling.

That very instant, all of the people began to throw paper balls, empty cans, and other garbage at Ash and his friends. "Booooo!" the crowd said at the same time as the gang narrowly dodged the trash being thrown at them.

"I'm really getting tired of fans," May felt her temper running short as Ash protected her from any garbage.

"I knew Roxie was popular, but not like this," Iris covered her head as they tried to walk through.

"Goes to show how far people will go to support their celebrities," Cilan chuckled nervously as he covered himself.

"Ax axew," Axew went into Iris's hair to hide during the assault.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu narrowly dodged the multiple cans being thrown at it, some were sent back by using Iron Tail, but the fans would just keep throwing trash.

"Roxie, Roxie, Roxie!" the fans praised their idol as they continued to torment Ash and the gang.

The only member of the gang who no one had noticed was Victini and the Psychic-type quickly became annoyed with the people who were tormenting Ash, May, and Pikachu. The Victory Pokémon glared at them and while invisible, it hovered above the crowd and opened its jaw. Without any sign of hesitation Victini cried, "Viiiiiiiiiii!" and a Flamethrower shot out.

Without warning, the fans got struck down by the vicious fire and they became fried flesh. "Did anyone…see where…that Flamethrower came from?" the fat man who caught the crowd's attention earlier lay on the ground with the rest of the fans, and like the rest, the chubby male was in pain.

"That's my Victini," May giggled when she noticed what happened.

"That's our Victini," Ash corrected May and laughed with May.

"Victini seems really protective of Ash and May, doesn't it Cilan?" Iris said to Cilan.

"Indeed, since Ash and May are considered its parents, Victini will attack anyone who tries to harm them from the looks of it," Cilan responded.

"Pika," Pikachu looked up above him and smiled at the invisible Victini.

"Look who it is," a figure came out of the gym entrance.

"Mr. Gold!" Ash shouted when he saw Mr. Gold at the entrance.

"Nice to see you again," May grinned when she saw the old man.

"Welcome my friends," Mr. Gold smiled at them.

"You gotta be kidding!" Cilan's eyes sparkles when he saw Mr. Gold.

"Who's that?" Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Gold, meet my friends, Iris, Cilan, and Pikachu," Ash introduced his friends to the celebrity.

"A real pleasure," Mr. Gold smiled at the three friends.

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu smiled at the man.

"Hello," Iris greeted the man.

"Mr. Gold it is such an honor to finally meet you, I've been a fan of yours ever since I was a kid, oh this such a delightful taste, meeting someone who admired as a child, I'm Cilan of the Striaton Gym," Cilan got on his knees and shook the man's hand while his eyes sparkled.

Mr. Gold became uncomfortable and chuckled nervously, "It's an honor to meet you Cilan."

"Cilan, what's the big deal, he's just another human being like us. You can be such a kid sometimes," Iris placed her hands on her hips and sighed.

"This is no ordinary man Iris, this man is Mr. Gold, director and producer of 99% of the movies you've ever seen in your life. He is a living legend and is among one of the most renowned celebrities of today's world, holding two Academy Awards for his skill in filming," Cilan glorified the man, who became more uncomfortable with every remark.

"I still don't see what the big deal is," Iris shrugged her shoulders.

"Wha-," Cilan was about to yell out, but before he could finish, the green-haired teen got pushed out of the way by May and Ash.

"Excuse him, he can be overexcited at times," May smiled sheepishly.

"So Mr. Gold, are you ready for the filming?" Ash asked the man with a smile.

When Cilan heard filming, he speedily got up and asked, "Filming?"

"What filming?" Iris inquired.

"While we were exploring Virbank City, we ran into Mr. Gold and that's how we met him. When Ash decided to challenge Roxie, Mr. Gold asked if he could film his battle with Roxie for a documentary and Ash accepted," May explained to her two friends.

"Ash, battling Roxie for one of Mr. Gold's movies, that's amazing!" Cilan cheered.

"That's so cool," Iris said after the explanation.

"Yes, this is going to be a true masterpiece my friends," Mr. Gold chuckled.

"By the way Mr. Gold, do you know why there are so many fans hanging out at the entrance of the gym?" Ash questioned the elder.

Mr. Gold looked behind Ash and saw all the roasted fans and adjusted his glasses, "Oh my, looks like these went through some fiery pit, but they were hanging out here because they were waiting for the arrival of Roxie's challenger. You see, I don't know how, but word got out that there was someone planning to challenge Roxie and by the time I arrived, there were already hundreds getting their seats for the big battle. Believe me, there are many more inside and I must say Ash, you're not very popular among them."

"I noticed," Ash chuckled nervously.

"Why don't I escort you to the room where you must prepare yourself, it'll be much easier with my bodyguards protecting you," Mr. Gold suggested.

"Sure, thank you," Ash thanked the man.

"May we come with him?" Cilan got up in Mr. Gold's face again.

Mr. Gold chuckled tensely and replied, "Of course, Ash will need his friends to encourage him before the battle."

"Then let's go!" Cilan pulled Ash's arm and they all rushed in.

"Cilan wait, slow down!" Ash yelled, but it was too late and they ran inside.

"Energetic fellow isn't he?" Mr. Gold whispered to May and Iris.

May and Iris giggled and nodded, with that they all went inside, including Victini, who had been silent the whole time. Without much trouble, thanks to the Machoke-sized bodyguards Mr. Gold had. Many of the fans booed and tried to throw stuff, but a quick glare from the guards settled them and they all proceeded to the preparation room.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this Ash, I'm expecting great things from you young man," Mr. Gold smiled.

"Hey, it's no problem at all, this will be fun," Ash smiled.

"Here are a few tips for you, all of Roxie's Pokémon are Poison-type and she has three Pokémon. It'd be clever to use a Pokémon with an advantage," Mr. Gold informed the auburn-eyed teen.

Ash placed his hands behind his head and responded, "Don't worry about me Mr. Gold; I know exactly how to win this one."

"Glad to hear it," Mr. Gold grinned and suddenly, a bell rang.

"What was that?" Iris inquired.

"It's time for the battle. I must head with my filming crew now, good luck lad," Mr. Gold grinned at Ash and dashed away.

Ash nodded and then turned to his three friends. "Go win it Ash," Iris smiled at the auburn-eyed boy, having full faith that Ash would win.

"Best of luck, we know you can do it," Cilan encouraged Ash.

"Thanks you two," Ash replied.

"We'll see later," Iris told the boy and ran off with Cilan.

May then pressed up against Ash and smiled sweetly, "I believe in you Ash, like I always have. Go show them how powerful my boyfriend is."

"I won't let you down May, you can count on that," Ash smiled back tenderly.

"I love you," May said and pressed her lips against Ash's without warning.

Ash didn't hesitate to kiss her back and enjoyed the warm feeling of her lips. His hands touched her waist and he pressed her up against him. May ran her fingers through is hair as felt his body warmth transfer to hers. It was a very passionate kiss and it could've lasted forever if Ash didn't have to battle Roxie.

"Victini," Victini appeared next to Pikachu, who was on Ash's shoulder. The two Pokémon smiled at the sweet moment between the pair.

Ash then separated from May and gave her a soft gaze, "I really enjoyed that," the boy grinned.

"There's more where that came from after this is over," May winked.

"Vi victini," Victini rubbed its cheeks against Ash and beamed at its 'papa'.

"Thanks Victini, I hope you enjoy watching your first gym battle," the raven-haired teen smiled back.

"Let's go now Victini, papa has to fight," May called the little Fire-type.

"V," Victini nodded and went to sit on May's shoulder.

May took one last look at Ash and Pikachu, and spoke, "Have fun and go win you two." The brunette smiled and then ran off with Victini.

Ash and Pikachu watched May run off with Victini for a second, but their attention then turned to the battle. "Let's get em, Pikachu," Ash smiled confidently at his longtime friend.

Pikachu returned the gesture and they both got on a platform in the middle of the room. The platform slowly lifted up and the roof above them opened. As they went up, the sounds of screaming got louder and flashy lights shined brightly above them.

When the platform finally surpassed the roof, they found themselves on a battlefield with large amounts of people sitting on the black and red seats surrounding the stage. Ash and Pikachu heard the crowds booing them and shouting Roxie's name, but they didn't pay attention to them.

"I've only seen this amount of people at Pokémon Leagues and Grand Festivals, it's impressive to see how many fans Roxie has, but I won't let that stop me," Ash smiled self-assuredly with Pikachu.

"And now ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the Virbank rock star and heroine, our beloved local celebrity and opponent to Ash Ketchum. Please welcome the remarkable Roxie!" the host standing on the middle of the battlefield announced through the microphone.

When the announcer said Roxie's name, the audience went wild and cheered loudly for the gym leader. Suddenly, purple gas shot out of the other end of the battlefield as a platform slowly rose up. All the lights concentrated on the platform and the sounds of an electric guitar could be heard all over the room. When the smoke dispersed, a woman with an electric guitar stood on top of the platform, a large, confident smile on her face.

"Welcome to your demise!" Roxie pointed at Ash and played her electric guitar.

"Demise?" Ash tilted his head while the crowd cheered happily.

"And thank you for coming folks; I am glad you could all be here today, to witness another victory from yours truly!" Roxie shouted and caused uproar among the audience.

May smirked as she looked down at the battlefield with the invisible Victini in her arms, "She's very confident in herself, but wait till she sees how strong Ash is. "

"This is exciting," Iris watched with Axew in her arms.

"And the fact that this will be in a film is even more amazing!" Cilan exclaimed, annoying some of the people near them.

The host then spoke, "You all know the rules. Now let the battle beeeegiiiiiiiin!" He then quickly ran to the side of the battlefield as the trainer's prepared to battle.

The crowd didn't waste a moment to scream again as they prepared to see their celebrity win the battle. A few feet behind Roxie, there were a number of cameramen and of course Mr. Gold, they all stood calmly unlike the people in the audience.

"Prepare to film lads, I want this done perfect, it's going to win me an Oscar," Mr. Gold ordered.

"Yes sir," the employees obeyed and set up the cameras for filming.

_This is going to be phenomenal; _Mr. Gold thought in his head and grinned as he prepared to watch the battle.

"Pikachu, let's go!" Ash pointed at the battlefield.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and landed on the battlefield, smirking the whole time.

Roxie chuckled and spoke, "A Kanto Pokémon eh? That makes two of us, go Koffing!" The rock star threw her Pokéball and played a riff on her guitar.

"Koffing," Koffing appeared on the battlefield, appearing very confident in itself.

"A Koffing, I didn't expect that," Ash raised an eyebrow, but quickly gained his composure and grinned, "No matter, we can still win. Pikachu give them a taste of your Electro Ball!"

Pikachu ran for a little bit in order to build speed and then leaped into her air. All of a sudden, an electric sphere shot of the mouse's tail as it yelled, "Piiiiikaaachuuuu!"

"What a joke," Roxie chuckled and crossed her arms. "Koffing, use Clear Smog!"

"Kooooffing," Koffing wasted no time in releasing a white beam of smoke at Electro Ball.

When the attacks clashed, a large explosion was produced and a cloud of smoke covered the middle part of the battlefield. "Pikachu, take advantage of this and use Iron Tail through the smoke!" Ash commanded.

"Koffing, why don't you counter with Gyro Ball?" Roxie smirked.

As Pikachu rushed into the smoke, Koffing began to spin rapidly and a blue energy line formed across its midsection, the next moment Pikachu jumped out of the cloud of smoke and prepared to swing its Iron Tail at Koffing.

"Pikachu, change of plans, switch Iron Tail to Electro Ball!" Ash demanded.

Pikachu nodded and turned its tail back to normal color. Without wasting another second, Pikachu launched an Electro Ball. "Sloppy," Roxie smirked and said, "Koffing, dodge and get near Pikachu!"

Koffing's swift movements using Gyro Ball allowed it to nimbly dodge Electro Ball. Ash's eyes widened and the boy yelled, "Pikachu, back flip to dodge Gyro Ball!"

Pikachu's eyes widened when it saw the incoming Gyro Ball and narrowly dodged the attack by flipping backwards and landing on the field below. "Sludge Bomb!" Roxie commanded.

"Koffing," the Poison-type stopped spinning and focused its eyes on Pikachu. The sphere-like Pokémon opened its mouth and shot out barrage of sludge at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, counter it with Thunderbolt!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"I don't think so, Koffing, max it up!" Roxie yelled and performed a riff.

"Pikaaaachu!" Pikachu cried out and released the powerful Electric-type attack.

The shower of sludge collided with Thunderbolt, but Thunderbolt was easily canceled out by the sludge and caused an explosion between the two Pokémon. However, Thunderbolt failed to stop Sludge Bomb and the Poison-type barrage attack shot at Pikachu like heavy rain.

"Pikaaaaaaa!" Pikachu shouted in pain as the sludge hit Pikachu hard enough to blast the mouse into the ground.

Koffing continued to use Sludge Bomb while Roxie watched calmly and Ash gritted his teeth in frustration. "This is bad," Iris said from the audience.

"Sludge Bomb has Pikachu cornered," Cilan grinded his teeth.

May and Victini only watched with concern as Koffing continued to release an endless barrage of sludge at Pikachu. Mr. Gold's eyes widened as he saw his friend's Pikachu get brutally beaten by Koffing and all he could do was stand there and sweat from the nervousness.

"This battle is going to end quickly, your time here is marked…Ash," Roxie chuckled as the crowd cheered for the gym leader.

Ash could only stand there and watch with frustration and hopelessness in his eyes. _Pikachu…_the boy said in his head as he failed to find a way to get out of this situation.

**This chapter was going to feature the entire battle with Roxie, but then I realized it'd be too long so I'll just wrap it up in the next chapter. I kept the gym battle simplistic for now because if I made it too detailed it'd be too long, but I hope you still enjoyed this chapter. Most of it was about the discussion between Ash and his friends with Roxas and I'm sure you've all received the hint about what Pokémon is the Majestic 12's next target. The future chapters are going to be interesting folks, so do not only stick around to see Ash battle Roxie, but for Ash and May's training and their meeting with Cheren. By the way, there's one question I've failed to ask in the past and now I'm confirming it, Burgundy, Stephan, and Georgia will not be appearing in this fanfic simply because I think they're rather annoying and there are already too many other important characters around. Cilan and Iris's own challenges will take an alternative course with the absence of these rivals, so don't worry if that's what your concerned about, I have that under control. Anyway, remember to REVIEW, PM, etc if anything. Stick around for the next chapter, and for the next next chapter, and why not just stick till the end of the story because I'm super excited lol. Well, until the next chapter guys, I'll try to post 27 up much faster, till then!**


	27. We Will Rock You!

Chapter 27: Don't Stop Believing

"Koffing, let's rock this one out with one last Sludge Bomb!" Roxie shouted eagerly. Her fans followed behind her and yelled cheerfully for the rock star.

"Kooooffing!" Koffing smirked and shot out a large ball of gunk at the ground below.

Ash gritted his teeth and looked through the small cloud of dust created from the Sludge Bomb barrage, _No, I'm not going to lose that easily, no way, Pikachu and I are not going to let that happen. _

"Pikachu, stop Sludge Bomb with Iron Tail!" Ash extended his arm to the right while screaming.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shot out of the cloud of smoke like a rocket. The mouse had serious injuries on him, but that didn't stop the Electric-type from smirking at Koffing.

Roxie's eyes widened and she yelled, "Impossible, no Pokémon is able to get back up after my Sludge Bomb volley."

"You're not dealing with ordinary battlers Roxie," Ash smirked at the rock star.

Pikachu's tail turned into steel and immediately swung it against Sludge Bomb. The Steel-type attack instantly swung the shot of sludge toward the ground below, causing it burst like a bubble when it hit the floor. Ash chuckled and pumped his fist, "Now let's give Koffing a taste of your Thunderbolt!"

While still in midair, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark and the mouse shouted. "Piiiiikaaachuuu!" Pikachu then unleashed a violent stream of lightning at Koffing, alarming the Poison-type and Roxie.

"Koffing!" Roxie screamed.

"Koooooffiiiiiing!" Koffing wailed in pain as the electricity coursed through it.

"Break out of it!" Roxie yelled.

Koffing opened its eyes while still enduring the pain, the purple Pokémon glared at snapped, "Koffing!" When it did that, the electricity shrugged of its body.

"Wow, that's a strong defense," Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Pika," Pikachu landed on the ground and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Koffing," Koffing smirked while small sparks of electricity enveloped it.

Roxie chuckled and spoke, "Ash that was one sick move. Not only did you deliver a deadly blow to my Koffing, but you even left it paralyzed. If it weren't for its high Special Defense, this would have been over dude."

"There's more where that came from Roxie," Ash smiled confidently.

"K, you've left one out of my three Pokémon wounded, there's still a long way to go. You should be thankful the gym here allows you to use as many Pokémon as you please, because from here it gets sickly serious," Roxie pointed at Ash and performed a riff on her guitar.

The crowd surrounding them roared at the sound of Roxie's words and you could feel the ground almost shake. Roxie reached into her pocket and got out two Pokéballs, "Return Koffing," Roxie raised her Pokéball and a red beam shot out, returning Koffing.

"I didn't know she could switch Pokémon," Ash sounded confused while talking to himself.

"What's Roxie up to and why is she able to switch Pokémon?" May murmured,

"I thought gym leaders weren't allowed to do that," Iris also seemed puzzled.

"Apart from making a wise decision by switching Pokémon, Roxie is allowed to do that because Virbank Gym is one of the world's only gyms with a unique set of rules. Think about it, in this gym the challenger is allowed to use as many Pokémon as he pleases, leaving the gym leader a bit vulnerable so to make up for that, they took off that rule for the Virbank City Gym," Cilan stated, explaining the rules of the Virbank Gym to them.

"That's a weird twist," Iris commented on the unorthodox rules of the Virbank Gym.

"Koffing is paralyzed and in a bad state to battle right now. A fresh new Pokémon would be much wiser to use, let's see how Ash will respond," Cilan further stated, explaining Roxie's smart thinking.

"Let's rock em Scolipede!" Roxie threw her other Pokéball and from it emerged a very large centipede-like Pokémon.

"Scolipede," Ash looked at the tremendous foe in front of him. His gaze then focused on Pikachu, who was breathing heavily and looked like it could barely stand up, _there's no other choice. _"Pikachu, come back," Ash commanded.

Pikachu turned around in surprise while Roxie and Ash's friends raised their eyebrows. "Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.

"Scolipede looks too strong for you to battle in the condition you're in pal. Take a break and I'll use another Pokémon," Ash told his small friend.

"Interesting," Roxie crossed her arms and smiled slyly.

"Pika," Pikachu nodded and ran back to Ash to stand beside him.

"I wonder what Pokémon Ash is going to use now," Iris wondered.

"If I were Ash I'd choose any but Snivy, Roxie shouldn't be taken lightly," Cilan crossed his arms.

May and Victini merely watched, they were confident that any Pokémon Ash would choose, would be a good choice.

Ash brought out a Pokéball and grinned, "Scraggy, let's go!" The raven-haired teen threw the Pokéball.

A white beam came out and took the shape of Scraggy. "Scraggy," Scraggy stood proudly in front of Scolipede, not fazed one bit by the superior-sized Pokémon.

"Scraggy, eh let's see how this goes, no time to waste, Scolipede, use Sludge Bomb!" Roxie pointed at Scraggy and smirked.

Scolipede cried out powerfully and released a large shot of sludge at Scraggy. "Scraggy, dodge and use Headbutt!" Ash ordered.

"Scrag," Scrag slid away from the Sludge Bomb's trajectory. The Dark-type then rushed towards Scolipede with its head lowered. "Scraggy!" the small Pokémon shouted and jumped toward Scolipede with its head still down.

"Stop it with a rock hard Screech," Roxie smirked.

Scolipede took a defensive stance and let out an earsplitting screech that hurt everyone's ears, except for Roxie who merely chuckled. "Man, that's one loud Screech," Ash covered his ears along with Pikachu.

"This is madness, I can barely hear myself think," Mr. Gold complained and covered his ears like the rest of the audience.

"Scragggyyyyy," Scraggy stopped its attack midway and dropped to the ground in pain from the noise. The Dark-type covered its ears as best as it could to stop hearing the noise, but Screech proved much more powerful.

"Let's keep rocking it with Rock Tomb!" Roxie extended her arm forward with her palm opened while she used the other hand to perform her usual riff.

Silver sparkles formed in between Scolipede's horns and the sparkles expanded, forming into a silver orb of energy. The glow then faded out the orb, forming into a large gray boulder with a transparent silver glow. The orb rested in Scolipede's horns, and without a moment's waste, Scolipede screeched while throwing the boulder at Scraggy.

When Scolipede's Screech stopped, everyone focused their attention back on the battle and now they were seeing a large boulder being thrown. Scraggy immediately got up, although its eyes widened when it saw the incoming attack.

Ash grinded his teeth and said, "Scraggy, dodge it!"

"No you don't," Roxie smirked and before Scraggy could move away the rock hit its mark. Rock Tomb hit Scraggy and it kept charging forward, but eventually broke when it hit the steel wall.

When the boulder broke into small rocks from hitting the wall, Scraggy was shown pressed against the wall from the impact, but the Pokémon fell off instantly and landed on its knees. "Scrag scraggy scrag," Scraggy panted and looked up at Scolipede.

"Sludge Bomb!" Roxie kept her arm extended forward.

Scolipede roared and released the large shot of gunk at Scraggy. Ash gritted his teeth, but he knew he couldn't afford to lose and frowned, "Scraggy, dodge it as quick as possible!"

"Scraggy," Scraggy nodded, but before it could slide away, Sludge Bomb hit its mark.

The shot of sludge caused Scraggy to cry out in pain as a dust elevated into the air. "Scraggy!" Ash screamed with frustration.

"Scraaaaggy," Scraggy moaned with its body covered in sludge and dropped to the ground unconscious.

"One down, five to go," Roxie chuckled. Roxie's fans then roared with happiness as Roxie stood her ground confidently.

"Scraggy got taken down in two hits!" Iris exclaimed.

"Roxie has a spicy strategy under her belt, her main tactic is weakening the Pokémon with decent moves and then adding the final touch with a high-powered attack," Cilan said, the seriousness in his voice showed that the green-haired teen knew Ash would have a hard time with Roxie.

"Ash still has four Pokémon in good shape to battle Roxie, this is still far from over," May spoke with a stern tone, the brunette still had full confidence in Ash and had no doubt in her mind that he'd win.

"Vi," Victini looked May and then at Ash, the Fire-type shared May's confidence and the invisible Pokémon grinned, "Victini."

"C'mon Ash lad, you have to get it together," Mr. Gold gritted his teeth from nervousness.

Ash returned Scraggy and smiled at its Pokéball, "You fought great Scraggy, take a good rest." With that said, Ash put away Scraggy and brought out another Pokéball, "Alright, Tranquil get out here!"

Tranquil appeared in front of Ash, cooing and flapping its wings confidently, Roxie couldn't help but chuckle though, "Don't think this is going to get any easier simply because Tranquil has the advantage."

"That's the last thought on my head, but Tranquil's speed and ability to fly will help me a lot for this one," Ash grinned with poise at the rock star.

"Scolipede, let's give show these two how sick we really are, use Sludge Bomb!" Roxie screamed with her arm extended to the right.

"Tranquil, let's counter with Air Cutter!" Ash pumped his fist.

Tranquil smirked and flapped its wings viciously until a blue-shaped "X" formed and the bird released it by flapping its wings one more time. Air Cutter blasted towards Sludge Bomb at an incredible pace and slashed right threw it like paper, canceling out the attack.

"Whoa," Roxie lifted an eyebrow.

Air Cutter continued to charge at Scolipede, but the Bug-type remained firm in its position. "Why isn't Scolipede moving, it's going to take a lot of damage if it doesn't," Iris became frustrated from the confusion she felt.

Ash himself wasn't sure what Roxie had planned, but remained calm and let Air Cutter charge. Suddenly, when Air Cutter was only a few feet away, Roxie chuckled and pointed at Air Cutter, "Cancel it out with Rock Tomb."

Scolipede screeched and released a large boulder to counter. The clash between the two attacks caused a large explosion and produced a cloud of smoke between the two Pokémon, causing both trainers to have a hard time seeing, or at least Ash. "Toxic now!" Roxie shouted.

"Huh?" Ash's eyes widened with surprise, not being able to react in time, the only thing he saw was a purple beam of sludge shoot out of the black cloud and blast Tranquil.

Tranquil squealed when the attack hit her and pushed the Flying-type toward the ground, Ash gritted his teeth and yelled, "Tranquil!"

"Tran," Tranquil gritted its teeth and struggled to get on its feet, when the cloud of smoke disappeared, the bird could only glare at Scolipede. Between the bird's eyes and beak, there was a visible purple mark.

"Looks like this song's over dude, give it up," Roxie smirked and then chuckled,

"Tranquil, what's wrong?" Ash saw the purple mark and purple sparks course through its body.

"Tranquil's been poisoned by Toxic, this isn't good," Iris grinded his teeth in frustration.

"Tranquil's energy is being slowly depleted because of that attack, Ash has to do something fast!" Iris screamed, realizing how critical this battle had become with Tranquil poisoned.

May could only bite her lip as she worried for Ash and Tranquil, the pair just couldn't afford to lose. Victini also showed concern when he saw his frustrated "papa" and the weak Tranquil struggling to stay on its feet.

"Your Pokémon got poisoned kid, in time, because of Toxic; Tranquil will no longer be able to rock on. Sick move don't ya think?" Roxie smirked at Ash, whose confidence was quickly fading.

Ash glared at Roxie and then looked at Tranquil, who kept moaning in pain, "Tranquil, I don't think you can battle anymore, you have to come back," the raven-haired teen told the bird.

"Tran!" Tranquil snapped at Ash and smirked at the auburn-eyed teen.

"You really want to keep going?" Ash questioned it.

"Tran," Tranquil nodded and turned back to Scolipede, smirking with confidence.

Ash saw Tranquil's gesture and grinned confidently as well, "Well then, let's keep at it, use Quick Attack!"

Tranquil raised its wings high and dashed towards Scolipede with great speed. "Tranquil is persistent, I'll give it that, but let's see if it can take a rock hard move, Screech!" Roxie screamed and played a riff on her guitar.

Scolipede raised its head high and began to screech, provoking the same reaction as before from everyone, but much to everyone's amazement, Tranquil kept darting forward. Ash's face became surprised, but then turned into a joyful one and yelled, "Let Scolipede have it Tranquil!" The black-haired teen shouted as best as he could so Tranquil could hear it.

May, Cilan, Iris, and the rest of the audience continued to be amazed, but most of all Roxie, "What?! No freaking way!" the rock star exclaimed.

Tranquil then smirked at Scolipede and hit against the giant Bug-type, sending the centipede-like Pokémon crashing toward the ground. The Quick Attack stopped Scolipede's Screech and everyone had their eyes widened as Scolipede attempted to get back up. "Scolipede get it together, get up!" Roxie demanded.

"Air Cutter before it can get up!" Ash pointed at Scolipede.

"Tran!" Tranquil raised its wings high and flapped, unleashing the mighty attack. Before even being able to react, Roxie and Scolipede were only able to spot the incoming attack and the next moment, the Flying-type move bashed Scolipede back down toward the ground.

Scolipede squealed in pain as it felt its body lose balance and Air Cutter cut through its tough skin, making its wounds burn because of the energy.

Tranquil smirked, but all of a sudden, the purple sparks from Toxic coursed through its body. The bird's eyes widened and in the next second, Tranquil just dropped to the ground unconscious.

Roxie's alarmed expression turned into a calmer one when she saw the event transpire and Scolipede slowly got back up on its feet, having a very proud gaze in its eyes.

"What just happened?" Ash raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Roxie crossed her arms and smiled arrogantly, "Toxic sucked away the last of your Tranquil's energy, that's what happened, thus rendering it unable to battle."

Before the host could even declare Tranquil unable to battle though, Roxie's fans cheered for her second win in a row, while May, Iris, Cilan, Victini, and Axew sat with disappointment.

Ash grinded his teeth and returned Tranquil without a word. The auburn-eyed teen took a look at the bird's Pokéball and smiled, "Thanks Tranquil, you did a great job out there."

"I gotta say Ash, your Tranquil rocked my world when it was able to endure Scolipede's Screech and manage to hit Scolipede. I hope I see more of that through this battle, perhaps you're not as weak as I originally thought," Roxie smirked and crossed her arms.

"That battle is definitely going on the film, no doubt," Mr. Gold chuckled and smiled, crossing his arms with confidence.

Ash smirked and replied, "This next Pokémon is going to end your Scolipede's winning streak though, get out here Tepig!" the messy-haired teen summoned his Fire-type.

"Interesting, let's brace ourselves Scolipede," Roxie chuckled and looked at Scolipede, who nodded in return.

"Tepig!" Tepig smiled when it came out of its Pokéball, but when it saw Scolipede in front it, the pig instantly became serious and took an offensive stance.

"Another Pokémon with an advantage, Ash has to win for sure this time," Iris clenched her fists because of the angst.

"Indeed, if not he'll only have three Pokémon left and it's most likely that this could end with a sour taste in our mouths," Cilan added to what Iris said.

"Tini?" Victini looked up at May with worried eyes.

Even though May couldn't see the Fire-type she could tell that it got worried for Ash and hugged it tighter, "Don't worry Victini, papa will pull through, he always does," the brunette grinned.

Victini then looked back at the battlefield and watched in silence.

"Let's rock this one! Scolipede let's use a Sludge Bomb volley!" Roxie extended her arm forward.

Scolipede roared proudly and shot out multiple balls of gunk at Tepig. "Tepig, counter Sludge Bomb with Ember now!" Ash ordered loudly.

"Teeeepiiiiig!" Tepig shouted and sneezed out the fiery attack.

Ember blasted through the field and caused a series of small explosions when it collided with the sludge barrage aiming towards Tepig. Small clouds of dust were made, but the abundant amount of dust clouds was enough to cover the midfield part of the battlefield.

"Charge at Scolipede with Flame Charge!" Ash punched his fist forward when he made the command.

"Tepig tepig tepig tepig," Tepig braced itself and then jetted off like a fiery bullet through the dust.

The bright flames exposed Tepig's location in the dust, giving Roxie and Scolipede an advantage and the rock star wasted no time in reacting, "Scolipede, take that pig down with Toxic or Sludge Bomb, let's show it how sick your truly are!" The musician then played a loud riff on her guitar to encourage her Poison-type.

"Tepig, use all the speed you've got!" Ash shouted, sweating from the intensity of the battle.

"Tepig tepig tepig," Tepig repeated as its flames became larger.

The Fire-type nimbly dodged every Toxic shot and Sludge Bomb coming its way by swerving, sliding, jumping, and dashing. Each attack was like an incoming rocket, but Tepig's phenomenal speed had the clear advantage.

The audience's jaws all dropped with shock while Ash's friends all cheered with joy. "You getting this?" one of Mr. Gold's cameraman asked his fellow cameraman.

"Every bit," the cameraman responded, focusing his camera on Tepig's every move.

"Let em have it!" Ash pumped his fist into the air.

"Teeeeepiiiiig!" Tepig huffed and lunged at Scolipede, nimbly dodging an incoming Sludge Bomb.

The flaming bullet bashed against Scolipede with all its heat, making the Bug-type squeal in pain as it flew backwards and crashed against the rocky floor. "Finish this with Ember!" Ash extended his arm to the right.

While still in midair, Tepig back flipped and snorted out Ember. The small flames charged at the knocked down Scolipede, making it squeal even harder than before. The flames scorched the centipede Pokémon's skin, leaving the Poison-type roasted and unconscious.

"Tepig," Tepig huffed and landed on the ground, grinning proudly.

"That was sick," Roxie became flabbergasted by what just happened.

The people in the audience were silent, whispering and mumbling to themselves about what just occurred. "Nice one Ash!" Iris jumped off her seat and fist pumped.

"That was spicy, yet delicious mix you pulled!" Cilan stood up and shouted.

Everyone in the crowd looked at the pair as if they were crazy, but they were oblivious to it. The duo caught Ash's attention and the boy waved at them, laughing and smiling happily. He then looked at May, who sat their quietly and winked at him while Ash winked back, he may have won the battle, but the war isn't over.

"Completely sick Ash, you rocked this battle for sure," Roxie smirked at Ash.

Ash smiled and responded, "That was nothing."

"Let's see if you can keep that rocking spirit on with my next Pokémon though," Roxie chuckled and returned Scolipede, the rock star smirked at it and spoke, "You rocked hard Scolipede, get some rest."

She then got out another Pokémon and threw it without a word. From it emerged Koffing, "Koffing," the Pokémon hovered over the field smiling, but electricity still coursed through its body.

"Are you sure you want to use Koffing now?" Ash lifted his eyebrow while asking, not sure what Roxie intended to do with her injured Pokémon.

"Course, but this time Koffing's going to rock it out, right Koffing?" Roxie smirked at her Pokémon and threw at Cheri Berry.

"Koff," Koffing opened its jaw wide and the berry went its mouth. The Poison-type chewed on it happily and suddenly, its sparks disappeared.

"You've got to be kidding," Iris frowned and clenched her fists.

"That berry just healed Koffing from its paralysis, this isn't good for Ash," May gritted her teeth, not expecting Roxie to do that.

"A very smart and unpredictable tactic, looks like Roxie and Koffing are coming back harder than ever," Cilan sat and remained calm while stating.

Ash grinded his teeth and mumbled, "Now I'm starting to understand why everyone says Roxie is strong, she's not just a gym leader, she's a tough one."

"Pikachu," Pikachu caught Ash's attention and the boy looked down at it.

"Pikachu, you want to battle Koffing again?" Ash inquired.

Pikachu nodded and Ash smiled, "Of course you will pal, but let Tepig have a go at it first, I'll switch him when the time is right ok?"

"Pikapi pika," Pikachu bobbed its head and looked at Koffing, after losing the first part of their battle in the mouse's mind; the little Electric-type became determined to make a comeback when Roxie would call it back.

"Koffing, Sludge Bomb!" Roxie instructed.

"Tepig, dodge and use Tackle!" Ash commanded.

"Kooooffiiiing!" Koffing exclaimed and released the large shot of sludge at the fire pig.

"Tepig!" Tepig ran straight toward Koffing and easily dodged the Sludge Bomb while jumping over it.

As the fire starter drew closer Roxie began to smirk and the moment Tepig jumped up to tackle Koffing she had something else to counter with, "Stop Tepig's charge with Gyro Ball."

Centimeters away from hitting Koffing, Tepig's eyes widened when it saw Koffing spinning rapidly and then charging at it. The next moment, the Poison-type hit its mark and Tepig's Tackle rebounded off the purple Pokémon and Tepig got sent flying by Gyro Ball.

"Teeeeepiiiiiig," Tepig wailed as it flew backwards.

"Don't give it a chance to recover, use Clear Smog," Roxie crossed her arms as Koffing released the white-colored gas attack.

Clear Smog shot Tepig and brought it crashing down to the ground like a bird hit with a stone. "Tepiiiiig!" Tepig cried when it hit the ground, causing some dust to rise.

"Is it over yet?" Roxie chuckled while she asked.

"Te…tepig," Tepig groaned as it got up, but the pig got up in the end and glared angrily at Koffing.

"Not yet, Tepig's making his final stand," Ash smiled slyly at Roxie.

"Shame, guess I'll put Tepig down for this time with Koffing's most powerful attack. Koffing, let's rock this stage with a Gyro Sludge Bomb volley!" Roxie performed a loud riff on her guitar and the audience roared wildly when Roxie announced her next attack.

"Bring on whatever you got, we're not going to lose, Tepig, use Flame Charge!" Ash extended his arm to the right as he exclaimed.

"Teeeeepiiiiiiig tepig tepig tepig tepig," Tepig braced itself once more and became enveloped in a violent fire. Then lunged its body forward and dashed off like a fiery bullet.

"That won't be enough this time," Roxie smirked. Suddenly, Koffing began to spin like it normally would while using Gyro Ball, but this time it shot out a barrage of Sludge Bomb in all directions and at an incredible speed, it was almost like a machine gun.

Try as he might, Tepig had a harder time dodging Sludge Bomb this and narrowly dodged the sludge attacks. "Tepig tepig tepig," Tepig panted as he slid from side to side trying to avoid any incoming sludge.

"Tepig, full speed, you can do it!" Ash encouraged his pig Pokémon.

Tepig began to sweat from exhaustion and his legs began to tire out. As he kept running, Tepig had a harder time dodging each sludge bullet and in the end, when Tepig leaped forward, a Sludge Bomb shot the pig's legs and made the pig's body flip as more Sludge Bombs came and shot Tepig multiple times like a sentry gun.

The massive quantity of Sludge Bomb shot Tepig toward the ground and made the pig cry out in pain like Pikachu before him, although this time was much worse. When the dust cleared and Koffing's assault stopped, a Tepig with swirl eyes got revealed, "Teeepiiig," Tepig moaned.

"Tepig is unable to battle, Koffing is the winner!" the host declared and Roxie's fans cheered for the rock star once again.

"Tepig return," Ash recalled his Pokémon and smiled at it, "Great job pal, you did amazing."

"You're down to three, and I still have two. I'm telling you, things don't get any easier from here," Roxie crossed her arms.

"I'd say the same about you, but I'll let Pikachu do that for me," Ash grinned confidently and at the sound of its name, Pikachu leaped onto the battlefield, still covered in injuries, but still had the fighting spirit to keep going.

"No surprise you're using Pikachu again, but let's twist this up a little," Roxie chuckled and snapped her fingers.

All of a sudden, the ground began to shake and a platform behind Roxie began to rise from underneath the ground. On top of it were a female guitarist and a male drummer with their respective instruments. The pair seemed mesmerized in their playing, producing the rhythm of a rock song.

Roxie reached for a microphone near the female guitarist and spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen, today, you're going to witness a rare occasion where we hold a battle as my fellow band mates play some rock hard music for us. I hope you enjoy the show!"

Roxie's fans all roared harder than ever before, causing the whole place to shake from the loud noise. Ash frowned at Roxie and responded, "This isn't a concert you know."

"I do that, but people love 'Koffing and the Toxics', so we're going to give them the satisfaction they need for being such great fans," Roxie smirked at Ash, her comment making the crowd go even wilder.

"Whatever," Ash had a hard time hearing himself think with all this noise.

"Things are going to get chaotic with this," Cilan commented.

"That's not fair, Roxie's fans are like 99% of the people here, how are we supposed to support Ash with all this noise," Iris clenched her fists and began to sweat a little, with Axew feeling the same amount of frustration as her.

May and Victini also had the same intense looks and May bit her lip even harder, wishing there were a way to help Ash in his endeavor.

"Koffing, let's use Will-O-Wisp," Roxie began to play on her electric guitar.

"Koffing," Koffing replied and formed small blue flames around it and shot them at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge it with Agility, then boost up your speed and hit Koffing with Quick Attack!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"Pikaaaaa," Pikachu braced itself and then jetted off, dodging Will-O-Wisp with outstanding ease. The blue flames didn't stand a chance on hitting Pikachu.

"Sick speed Ash, but that won't be enough to beat Koffing," Roxie chuckled,

"I know that's why we have one other move up our sleeve. Pikachu, leap toward Koffing and use Double-Edge!" Ash punched his fist at the air in front of him.

"Piiikaaa!" Pikachu dodged the last of the Will-O-Wisp and lunged at Koffing The mouse's body became surrounded in a golden aura and left a trail of bright yellow energy behind it.

Roxie smirked and spoke, "Counter with Gyro Ball."

Before Pikachu could slam Koffing though, the purple Pokémon began to spin and used Gyro Ball. When Pikachu hit Koffing, the mouse's attack was unsuccessful and got sent flying back with Gyro Ball.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as it flew backwards and landed on the ground.

Koffing then stopped its motion and smirked down at Pikachu. Ash gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, _after all that speed and power, Gyro Ball was still stronger, since it's a Steel-type there's no way a Normal-type move could have gotten through it, we need to come up with a better tactic so we can end this,…wait that's it! _

Pikachu groaned and slowly got back up on its feet. "Pikachu, let's repeat the same strategy as before, this time with more power alright?"

Pikachu looked at his friend with an unsure look but Ash smiled back, "Trust me on this one."

Pikachu seemed uncertain, but then took a look at his friend's grin and nodded. The small mouse turned back Koffing and glared at it. "Do you really want to make the same mistake again Ash? If Pikachu gets hit with Gyro Ball one more time, it's a guaranteed knockout."

"We'll see about that, Pikachu go!" Ash instructed.

"Koffing let's save them the trouble and just finish them with our Gyro Sludge Bomb volley," Roxie smirked.

Koffing nodded and repeated the same attack that defeated Tepig. The Sludge Bomb got launched at the same astounding speed as before, but this time, its opponent was much faster. With the combined speed of Agility and Quick Attack, Pikachu nimbly dodged each Sludge Bomb, although it almost got caught a few times.

"Pi pika pi!" Pikachu flipped and swerved all over the place, panting and sweating, but the mouse still had the energy to keep going.

Roxie lifted an eyebrow and spoke, "Amazing, I've never seen anyone handle Koffing's most powerful combination attack with as much control as your Pikachu, rock on," The white-haired rock star smiled.

The audience became amazed once again with Ash and his Pokémon, not believing their eyes that not even Koffing's most notable offense attack could stop the mouse. When Pikachu got close enough, it leaped into the air and charged at Koffing, forming the same gold aura from Double-Edge.

Roxie merely crossed her arms as Koffing used Gyro Ball, knowing Pikachu's attack would just fail again, until Ash spoke, "Now power up with Volt Tackle!"

"What?!" Roxie's eyes widened.

Pikachu's face formed a smirk and its body became enveloped in powerful yellow aura, making the mouse look like an electric-charged bullet. "Pikachuuuuu!" Pikachu charged full force and bashed against Koffing, producing a powerful swirling tower of electricity from the collision.

The tower then exploded and electricity and smoke dispersed everywhere while Koffing and Pikachu shot out to their respective sides. Both Pokémon had swirl eyes, indicating that both were unconscious.

"Koffing and Pikachu are unable to battle, this battle ends in a tie!" the host announced.

The audience was still in a state of shock after seeing the illuminating electric tower produced from the collision between Volt Tackle and Gyro Ball, they were all dead silent, even Iris and Cilan while May let out a deep breath of relief.

"Uhhhh…did you guys film that?" Mr. Gold mumbled to his cameramen.

One of them displayed a video of it through their cameras and showed just how epic the attack collision had been, from the way the video seemed to shake; it appeared that the attack had also caused a vibration in the ground.

"Terrific," Mr. Gold plainly stated and watched with silence, although his eyes showed that even the famous director had been amazed by the display of power.

"Pikachu, are you ok buddy?" Ash lifted his partner up and looked down at it.

"Pi," Pikachu smiled at Ash softly.

"You did amazing, thanks so much pal, you should rest now," the auburn-eyed teen gave his friend a sweet gaze and walked back to his position.

"You rocked hard Koffing, get some rest," Roxie recalled her Koffing.

"Ash, I gotta hand it to you, ever since you used Tranquil; you've done nothing, but amaze me. You rock hard bro, but I'm getting tired of the fireworks, it's time to wrap this up, it was fun, but your time in this gym is over, go Garbodor!" Roxie spoke sternly and threw out her last Pokémon.

"Not if my Pokémon have something to say about it," Ash held Pikachu with one arm threw his Pokéball and the other.

From Ash's Pokéball emerged Snivy, standing arrogantly in front of the audience. "Has Ash lost it, Snivy is going to get creamed against a Poison-type!" Iris shouted.

"Maybe not, Snivy is an exceptional battler, Ash might just win this," Cilan placed his fingers under his chin and prepared to analyze the battle.

May looked up from the battlefield to the screen and saw Roxie only had one Pokémon left while Ash still had two, giving him the advantage, but since all of Roxie's previous Pokémon took down at least two, she had a reason to worry.

"Garbodor," Garbodor appeared on the stage, the large Pokémon glared down at Snivy and towered over it with an intimidating pose.

Snivy simply looked at Garbodor and chuckled, irritating the Poison-type. "Garbodor, let's give Snivy a warm welcome with Venoshock," Roxie smirked.

"Gar!" Garbodor yelled and raised its arms equipped with pipes and released a green poison at Snivy.

"Snivy, dodge with Vine Whip!" Ash extended his arm to the left.

"Sni," Snivy closed its eyes and pushed itself up with Vine Whip, allowing it to dodge Venoshock.

"Sick," Roxie lifted an eyebrow when she Snivy in midair.

"Now use Attract!" Ash shouted.

"Sniiiivyyy," Snivy looked down at Garbodor and winked at it, releasing pink energy hearts down at the garbage Pokémon.

Unable to react in time, Roxie and Garbodor became helpless with the incoming Attract. The hearts enveloped Garbodor, but when they tried to close in on the Poison-type the hearts faded.

"It failed!" Cilan got up his seat, shocked by the result.

"No, now how are we suppose to stop Garbodor," Ash murmured, gritting his teeth.

Pikachu jumped off his arms and couldn't believe how bad this just became. Roxie chuckled and spoke, "Our turn, Garbodor, rock it with Hyper Beam!"

"Bodor!" Garbodor opened its jaw wide and unleashed the attack.

"Snivy, counter Hyper Beam with Leaf Storm, fast!" Ash screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Sniiiiiivvvvvyyyyy," Snivy's eyes widened when it saw the powerful red beam aiming its way and unleashed a barrage of green energy leaves to counter.

The powerful attacks clashed with each other, but ended in a violent midair explosion, causing Snivy to fly backwards violently from the impact.

"Snivy, stop your fall with Vine Whip!" Ash instructed.

As Snivy fell down, it extended its vines and slowed down the fall, gently landing on the ground unharmed. Its small body had a few wounds on it, but nothing serious.

"You got yourself a close call Ash, but this is far from over," Roxie began to quicken the pace of her guitar playing and so did her band mates.

"Garbodor needs to recharge from Hyper Beam, we're going to hit our mark before you know it," Ash grinned confidently and then spoke again, "Snivy, use your vines to launch yourself close to Garbodor and use Leaf Blade!"

"Sni," Snivy nodded and used its long vines to wrap itself around Garbodor and then launched itself close enough to the poison giant like a slingshot.

"Whoa, that's a rocking trick," Roxie commented.

When Snivy got near Garbodor it spun around it slashed the trash Pokémon with its glowing green tail. "Follow it up with Vine Whip!" Ash ordered.

"Snivy!" Snivy frowned at Garbodor and quickly after using Leaf Blade, it retracted its vines a bit and slapped Garbodor across the face twice, leaving red spots on its cheeks.

"Grab it!" Roxie screamed.

Suddenly, before Snivy could land on the floor and move away from Garbodor, the Poison-type's left arm reached for Snivy and crushed the Grass-type in its left hand.

"Snivy!" Ash yelled.

"Sniiiiiii!" Snivy squealed in pain as Garbodor crushed it in its hand.

"You got a little too close to Garbodor, Ash, now you're going to see just how strong Garbodor really is, throw it and finish this with Gunk Shot!" Roxie extended her left arm forward.

"Gaaaarbooooodoooor!" Garbodor roared and threw Snivy like a pebble. It then placed its hands close together and formed a large garbage bag and launched it at the snake Pokémon.

The garbage bag hit Snivy head on and sent it flying against the wall with the impact causing a large metallic noise since the wall was made of steel. The garbage bag and Snivy dropped to the ground together, when Snivy landed it was clearly unconscious.

"Snivy is unable to battle, Garbodor wins!" the host announced, provoking a loud roar from the audience, having fully recovered from the battle between Koffing and Pikachu.

"Snivy return," Ash returned Snivy and grinned at Snivy's Pokéball before putting it away, "Snivy, you couldn't have done better. You've earned a good rest."

Ash then brought out another Pokémon, but before he could throw it he got interrupted by Pikachu, "Pika pikachu."

"I hope so too pal, but in the end, I know he won't let me down," Ash looked at his Pokéball.

"Ash is up to his last Pokémon," Iris said with a serious tone.

"And we all know who that is," Cilan stated.

"Yeah, the Pokémon that'll win Ash's fourth gym badge," May looked at her friends with a confident smile and soon, Cilan and Iris formed their own smiles, having confidence in Ash and his other Pokémon.

"Oshawott, get out here!" Ash released his sixth and final Pokémon.

Oshawott shot out of the Pokéball and landed in a prideful manner on the battlefield, "Oshawott," the Pokémon smiled arrogantly and opened its eyes, but when it saw its opponents, all its bravery immediately flushed away.

"Gaaar," Garbodor glared at Oshawott.

"Oshawott osha," Oshawott quickly ran to Ash and hid behind his leg, shaking its arms frantically.

Ash looked down at Oshawott and grinned sheepishly, "Oshawott, c'mon, this isn't the first time you've fought someone much bigger than you, you can do this, I believe in you."

"Oshaaaa," Oshawott stared up at Ash with a frightened look and shook its head sideways in frustration.

Their conversation was quickly cut by Roxie though, "You know Ash. All of your Pokémon have impressed me today, from Scraggy to Pikachu, because they all fought their hardest and showed a great amount of bravery. To be honest though, your last Pokémon is a disappointment, is it always such a coward? No wonder you saved it for last."

Ash grinded his teeth and glared at Roxie, "Hey, Oshawott is anything but a coward! He may be a little stubborn, in the end though, he would fight as hard and as brave as any of my other Pokémon, don't underestimate him!"

"Whatever, are we gonna battle or you gonna forfeit or what?" Roxie crossed her arms, gazing at Ash sternly.

Ash looked down at Oshawott and sighed, the auburn-eyed teen then flashed a soft smile at it and spoke, "It's alright Oshawott. I'm not going to make you battle if you don't want to." The boy then lowered his head and hid his eyes under his hat.

Pikachu looked up at Ash and then Oshawott with a disappointed gaze. "Pi…." The mouse lowered its ears.

"What, is he going to quit just like that?!" Iris shouted in anger.

"The well-being of his Pokémon seem more important than the battle Iris, you have to let him be," Cilan sighed, disappointed at the result as well, but supported his friend's choice.

"No look at Oshawott!" May exclaimed and the other two turned their attention back to Oshawott.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott jumped onto the battlefield with great pride in the otter's soul.

Pikachu and Ash's heads lifted and looked surprised, "Oshawott, you're going to battle?" The auburn-eyed teen's eyes glistened with happiness.

"Osha osha oshawott," Oshawott smirked and placed his hand over its heart.

Ash and Pikachu smiled with joy while Iris and Cilan's eyes shined with delight as well. _I told ya so, _May giggled as she communicated with herself in her mind while Victini cheered in her arms.

"Well whaddaya know," Roxie smirked.

"I knew that boy wouldn't let me down, crew, film all you can of this last battle pronto!" Mr. Gold ordered and his cameramen quickly positioned for filming.

"Great Oshawott, let's win that badge," Ash smiled at his friend.

"Pikapi pi!" Pikachu encouraged his friend.

"Osh," Oshawott smirked at Garbodor, who continued to glare down at it.

"Let's make this the final jam, rock it sick!" Roxie began to play a very punk rock song and confetti shot out from the ceiling while the entire crowd cheered happily.

"Right, Oshawott, give Garbodor a taste of your Water Gun!" Ash extended his arm to the left while grinning cheerfully.

"Counter with Venoshock!" Roxie shouted.

Within seconds the attacks collided and both canceled each other out, leaving a muddy pool of green-blue goo on the ground between their spots. "Garbodor get that otter," Roxie commanded.

"Oshawott, dodge as best as possible!" Ash instructed.

Garbodor's arms stretched out to grab Oshawott, but Oshawott's small size allowed it to avoid the lengthy arms. He jumped and flipped over the incoming arms. "Osha osh," Oshawott swerved and flipped the long arms.

"Oshawott, use Razor Shell and Water Gun to protect yourself!" Ash ordered.

Oshawott felt like it was in a jungle as it tried to avoid every time the arms tried to grab it. When the filthy Pokémon's arms got too close, Oshawott slashed it away with Razor Shell it sent it back with Water Gun.

The otter kept repeating this process for some time and amazed Roxie and her fans with all its quick moves, Oshawott proved to be fast and powerful against Garbodor's mighty abilities, but even otter began to tire out. Ash soon noticed and knew he had to come up with something, that's when he took note of the blue-green pool and then looked at Garbodor. He soon realized Garbodor's arms were twisting and turning everywhere, which would give him a clear advantage along with his other idea.

"Oshawott, get out of there and use your shell as a surf board on that colored pool so you can slip upwards toward Garbodor!" Ash commanded.

Oshawott water gunned away one of Garbodor's arms and when it heard Ash's command it noticed the pool just ahead and dashed as quick as possible to it. "No you don't, Garbodor, stop it!" Roxie demanded loudly.

As the Water-type ran to the pool, Garbodor's arms followed behind it until they stopped and revealed the knot its arms had made. "You've got to be kidding me," Roxie's grinded her teeth.

"That was your mistake, with Garbodor's arms tied up, you're left opened. Oshawott, let's go!" Ash told his otter Pokémon.

"Oshaaawoooootttt!" Oshawott exclaimed and took its shell from its belly while running. Seconds before touching the pool, Oshawott got on his shell and launched himself into the water while pushing his board against the contaminated pool with Water Gun. The pressurized water from Water Gun accelerated the speed of Oshawott's shellboard and allowed it to surf on the large goo pool that covered the entire midfield of the battlefield. When Oshawott got close enough to Garbodor it used more power on Water Gun and surfed upwards towards Garbodor.

"That's not even sick, that's insane," Roxie's jaw dropped when she saw Oshawott surf out of the pool and go upward like a bullet at Garbodor. The otter then shot at Garbodor with a blue water-like aura surrounding it and it became clear that the Pokémon was using Aqua Jet. The pressurized water bullet aiming at Garbodor would be deadly, but before Oshawott could hit Garbodor, it lifted its shell against Garbodor's face. When Aqua Jet hit Garbodor dead on in the face, it didn't stop there; when Oshawott's shell hit Garbodor it slid on his face in an upward direction and allowed Oshawott to reach a higher altitude while still on his shell.

The audience was in complete awe, even Iris, Cilan, May, Victini, and Axew. None of them, not even May, who had traveled with Ash for a long time had seen him ever do something like this.

Oshawott smirked at the upset Garbodor and did a handstand on its shell to show off. Sounds of camera flash could be heard thanks to the audience as Oshawott played with its shell in midair.

"Uhhhh…gentlemen?" Mr. Gold's jaw dropped.

"We got it," the cameramen filmed Oshawott very attentively.

Oshawott winked at the crowd and then grabbed its shell with its one hand and lowered down to Garbodor's face, turning his shell into Razor Shell. "Do it Oshawott!" Ash pumped his fist with joy, amazed by his Pokémon's ability to pull off those types of moves.

"Oshaaaaawooooott!" Oshawott flipped forward and slashed Garbodor across the face, making it squeal in pain.

As Oshawott fell, Ash made his next command, "Follow it up with a Water Gun!"

"Oshaaawooott!" Oshawott opened its mouth and released a stream of pressurized water, causing Garbodor great annoyance as the water pounded his face.

Roxie gritted her teeth and spoke, "Enough games, Garbodor, use Hyper Beam!"

Garbodor immediately faced Oshawott's Water Gun head on and unleashed Hyper Beam within a second. The Hyper Beam vaporized Water Gun and blasted Oshawott, sending it flying upward.

"Oshaaaawooott!" Oshawott cried out in pain, feeling extreme pain from the high-powered attack.

"Oshawott!" Ash, May, Cilan, and Iris said simultaneously.

Before the otter Pokémon could hit the ground though, Garbodor's hands caught them. When Ash and his friends saw this, their eyes widened, knowing exactly what this meant for Ash. Roxie smirked and spoke, "If you think Water Gun could hold off Garbodor, you were wrong Ash, now it's my turn to play. Garbodor, DoubleSlap Oshawott."

Garbodor tightened his grip on Oshawott with his right hand and crushed the little guy, making it squeal in pain. "Garbodor," Garbodor smirked at Oshawott and began to slap it across the face continuously with DoubleSlap.

"Oshawott…." Ash watched with Pikachu in horror as Oshawott's cheeks became red, Roxie wouldn't stop until Oshawott knocked out.

"Let's take a break Garbodor, switch to Venoshock," Roxie began to play a guitar solo and the crowd went wild.

Garbodor chuckled and aimed his pipes at Oshawott while still holding the otter. Oshawott weakly lifted its head up and saw the green poison shoot at him, shocking its entire body with pain.

"Roxie, Roxie, Roxie, Roxie!" the audience repeated loudly, cheering the gym leader's name and believed the match was hers.

_What can I do now, Oshawott can't use Razor Shell with Garbodor crushing it and Water Gun isn't strong enough to do anything. Tackle isn't an option either and neither is Aqua Jet, he's trapped there, how are we supposed to get out of this one now? _Ash thought in his head frantically while gritting his teeth.

"Vi v victini," Victini became concerned with how the battle had began to turn in Roxie's favor so quick and raised its arm, creating a small red sphere in front of it.

"Victini, no," May lowered the invisible Pokémon's hands, having no trouble locating them.

Victini gazed up at May with a sad look and spoke, "Victini vi…"

"I know you want to help Victini, but it wouldn't be fair to lend your power. Ash and Oshawott would like to win fair and square," May spoke as nicely as she could to Victini and smiled sweetly. "So we have to give them that, but I know another way we can help, a better one," the brunette smiled happily while Victini seemed puzzled.

"Follow me," May got up while talking to Victini.

"May, where you going?" Iris inquired.

"I'll be right back and I'm taking Victini with me," the sapphire-eyed girl informed her and Cilan.

The pair nodded and May ran off. "Why do you think she left now out of all moments?" Iris asked.

"Maybe she can't afford to see Ash lose like this," Cilan spoke solemnly.

"Oshawott, Water Gun!" Ash commanded.

Oshawott looked up at Garbodor who continued to shoot Venoshock at it, but before it could get hit again, Water Gun clashed with and canceled it out. "Oshawott," Oshawott panted and continued battling his opponent futilely.

"Ash, Oshawott has to be the most impressive of your Pokémon. Its determination and willpower is something else, but it'll need more than that to beat Garbodor. This battle is almost over, not even Water Gun can save your victory," Roxie chuckled.

"If Oshawott's not giving up, then neither am I!" Ash spat at Roxie.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu added to what Ash said.

"You are by far the greatest challenger I've ever had, it was fun, thank you for the rocking experience," Roxie smirked and winked at Ash, ""Garbodor, end this with DoubleSlap!"

"Garbodor!" Garbodor raised its left arm and began slapping Oshawott like before.

"No, Ash, c'mon, get it together lad, you have to win this, if you could make your Pokémon surf and make electric twisters, you can break out of this one," Mr. Gold clenched his fists and was sweating heavily.

In the audience, Cilan, Iris, and Axew watched with frustration, but their focus got cut by May's words, "Guys, I am going to need your help for this."

"Help for wha-," but Cilan's words got cut off by what he saw.

"We need to help Ash by encouraging him and Oshawott. With all these people chanting Roxie's name, I think it's hardly fair that no one is supporting Ash and as his friends and girlfriend we have to do something," May held some medium-sized drums in a stack, three for each.

"May, that's a brilliant idea!" Iris cheered.

"Are you sure about this?" Cilan seemed uneasy about making an awkward scene.

"Of course, now c'mon Cilan, here's your drum," Iris said while taking two of the three drums and handed one to Cilan along with the drumsticks.

"Before we starting playing though, there's one more thing I'd like to do, and it involves makeup," May told the other two.

"Makeup?!" Cilan's eyes widened.

"We'll have to do whatever it takes to help Ash, even if it includes makeup, plus it isn't what you're thinking so calm down," May frowned and sassed Cilan, forcing the green-haired teen to give into her demands.

"Then let's get started," Iris smiled from the excitement.

"Right," May nodded and dug into her fanny pack in search of her makeup.

"Oshawott…osha….oshawott," Oshawott slowly lowered its head with every slap, feeling itself about to give in to defeat.

"Folks, looks like this is the end of this match, and like usual, our champ and beloved Roxie is the victor," the host spoke through the microphone with happiness.

"Oshawott, you gave it your best, thank you," Ash spoke to Oshawott with a soft voice, it was clear to him that their defeat was now inevitable.

Oshawott smiled weakly at Ash and slowly lowered its head, "Folks, our victor is clearly the rock star Roxie!" the host announced.

Before Oshawott could give in or before the crowd could cheer or before Ash could surrender though, May's voice caught the attention of everyone, "Not if I can say anything about it!"

Roxie and the audience all turned to May and her friends standing in the audience. Mr. Gold became alarmed by what he saw and Ash and Pikachu seemed incredibly puzzled, "What are May, Iris, and Cilan doing?" Ash wondered.

"Pi," Pikachu also appeared confused.

The four of them had their faces painted, with May having fire markings on her face, Cilan had water marking, and Iris and Axew had lightning markings. The markings were painted over their eyes, cheeks, and forehead and they seemed excited, except for Cilan, who appeared nervous. She also held drums in front of them, with the straps of the drums hanging by their necks.

"Hey, what's the big deal brat, Roxie is about to win!" a man dressed like a biker gang member got up from behind May and yelled at her.

May felt her temper shoot out and turned around with the same fierce anger Ash had only seen once during May's visit to Sinnoh. "Listen punk, your rock star hasn't won until Oshawott is down and that isn't exactly the case now is it? So sit down, shut your mouth or I'll make sure you won't have kids!"

Iris, Cilan, Axew, and the rest of the people near May became startled by her red flaming eyes and fierce and violent tone, causing them to take a step away from. May turned around and her frightening demeanor transformed back into the innocent and sweet girl everyone knew. She smiled down at Ash with the sweetest smile she could pull off and spoke, "Ash, Iris, Cilan, Axew, and I believe in you. We know you can do it; you and Oshawott, the four of us believe in you, so don't give up. Hold on to that feeling, that feeling of determination and desire to win, the both of you have what it makes, just don't stop believing in yourself. Go for it."

Ash and Oshawott gazed at May and they felt themselves blush, but then as she spoke they felt their feelings of determination and confidence return. "Vi…." Victini's voice echoed through Ash's ear and Ash could feel something land on his shoulder, but it wasn't visible.

Ash turned to his side and smiled at the creature sitting next to him, "Victini v," the Pokémon smiled at Ash.

"Thanks you guys," Ash fought back the tears in his eyes as he looked at his friends, Victini, and his beloved.

"Pikachu," Pikachu grinned at Ash with joy.

"Play it guys!" May smiled and began to play the drums.

"Let's do it Axew!" Iris exclaimed.

"Axew!" Axew responded.

"Here goes," Cilan sighed.

Suddenly, the beat of the drums began to echo around the room and a recognizable tune began to play through the ears of the audience. The drums thundered through the room and everyone felt excitement crawling underneath their skin.

"Hey, that song is 'We Will Rock You'!" Roxie shouted happily.

"We Will Rock You?" Ash seemed confused.

"It's a hit song," Roxie informed Ash.

"Ash, we know you can do it!" May screamed.

"We know you can win it!" Iris shouted.

"It's in your hands Ash!" Cilan exclaimed.

"Axew ax axew!" Axew yelled.

"Let's join them!" Roxie shouted to the audience and to her band mates.

The crowd cheered thunderously and all of a sudden, Roxie and the Toxics began to play along with May, Cilan, and Iris. "We will, we will rock you," got repeated throughout the room and loud claps caused a feeling of excitement among the audience.

"Whoa, I've never had a gym battle like this one before," Ash raised an eyebrow.

As everyone continued to sing and play along to "We Will Rock You", Roxie pointed at Ash and spoke, "Ash, let's finish this!"

"I'm right with you!" Ash smiled confidently.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott grinned confidently at Garbodor while still being clutched.

"Gar." Garbodor glared at it.

The sound of the music and the words of their friends echoed through Oshawott and Ash's minds and they felt their spirits renewed for battle. "Oshawott, let's make this last battle a good one, use a full power Water Gun now!" Ash extended his arm forward joyfully,

"Garbodor, slam Oshawott against the ground by throwing it!" Roxie played her guitar out of control as the audience continued to sing and clap.

"Oshawott, use Water Gun to weaken your fall," Ash ordered.

Garbodor flung Oshawott to the ground, but Oshawott unleashed a Water Gun aiming downwards and the pressurized water sent Oshawott flying back into midair, preventing its fall.

"Clever, but not good enough, let's end this song with Hyper Beam!" Roxie exclaimed.

"Oshawott, fight back with Water Gun!" Ash extended his arm to the left.

"Garbodor!" Garbodor shot out the powerful red beam.

"Oshaaaaaaaaawooooooooooott!" Oshawott began to glow blue and moved its hands in a counterclockwise motion and a blue ball of water formed in between them. The ball of water flattened and turned into a circle. Then, a powerful jet of water got fired from the circle to counter Hyper Beam.

"That's no Water Gun," Roxie lifted her eyebrow.

"It's Hydro Pump!" Ash's eyes shined with amazement.

The two superpower attacks clashed with each other and entered a power struggle where both attacks tried to dominate each other. At moments it seemed as though Hydro Pump would overpower Hyper Beam, and at other moments vice versa.

All of a sudden, Oshawott's eyes began to glow blue and a blue aura enveloped its body. "What ability is that?" Iris stopped her drum playing and became alarmed by what she saw.

"That's Torrent, Oshawott's ability!" Cilan stopped as well and exclaimed.

"It increases the power of a Water-type's water moves when it is very weak, Oshawott is exerting as much as possible into the Hydro Pump," May stated, amazed by how brightly Oshawott glowed.

"Garbodor, turn it up!" Roxie ordered and Garbodor exerted more power into Hyper Beam, slightly overpowering Hydro Pump.

"No, not even Torrent is enough, how can we win now?" Ash analyzed his environment desperately until he focused his sight on Hydro Pump itself, _bingo. _

"Oshawott, use Aqua Jet to get into Hydro Pump and exert all the power you can!" Ash extended his arm to the right.

"Oshaaaaaaawoooooooooott!" Oshawott began to glow a dark blue and jetted into the stream of water.

Hydro Pump became even thicker and Oshawott could be seen darting off inside it. That's when Hydro Pump quickly began to overpower Hyper Beam and pushed it back within seconds.

"Gaaaaarboooooodoooooor!" Garbodor's eyes widened as the powerful Water-type attack combination overpowered Garbodor and sent it flying. The water erupted violently as Garbodor flew back and landed on the ground, no longer able to battle. It was at this moment that all the singing, clapping, and playing halted and the environment became silent.

Oshawott stopped glowing blue and dropped to the ground, but before it could hit the floor, Ash ran from his position and caught it, "Oshawott!" Ash greeted the Pokémon with a smile.

"Garbodor is unable to battle, the victor of this match is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" the host declared joyfully.

When the host announced the victor no one in the audience could believe it, only Iris, Cilan, May, and Axew celebrated happily by dancing and jumping with each other like children. "What are you guys doing, this kid one won it fair and square, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to roar and give our winner, Ash Ketchum, a loud and powerful applause!" Roxie took the microphone from the host and spoke to the audience.

Roxie's fans quickly came to its sense and smiled happily, soon they began to applaud all at once, they whistled, screamed, and roared Ash's name throughout the entire room.

"I knew he could do it, I just you he could pull it off, he's everything I hoped for!" Mr. Gold jumped up and down cheerfully while his cameramen stared at him oddly.

"Victini vi victini," Victini flew around the room happily, remaining invisible, but was able to celebrate in papa's victory.

"He did it, my Ash did it!" May jumped up and down with Cilan and Iris, giggling with joy.

"Ash, catch!" Roxie called Ash and threw the Toxic Badge at him.

Ash barely caught it since he got caught off guard, but smiled happily with it in his hands. Oshawott leaped off Ash's left arm and danced with Pikachu joyfully. "Way to go Oshawott, I'm so proud of you, we couldn't have won if it hadn't been for you," Ash grinned at the Water-type.

"Osha oshawott!" Oshawott smiled happily despite its injuries.

"Sorry I went so rough on your Pokémon, it's been a long time since I've had a battle that tough and in the end you earned your victory Ash. You are much stronger than I could've imagined. Congrats," Roxie smiled at Ash.

"Thanks Roxie, but I couldn't have done it without my Pokémon," Ash smiled down at his Pokémon and smiled.

Ash grinned at the badge in his hand and raised it in the air, "Alright, I got the Toxic Badge!"

"Pipikachu!" Pikachu leaped into the air joyfully.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott jumped alongside Pikachu.

* * *

Ash lowered his badge, away from the sunlight and smiled at his friends walking beside him, "I still can't believe I've got my fourth badge."

"You've earned it," Iris smiled.

"Ax axew," Axew beamed.

"Indeed, congrats on your sweet victory," Cilan grinned.

"Pikapi pika," Pikachu sat on Ash's right shoulder, smiling at his best friend as well.

"I couldn't be more proud of my Ashy," May wrapped herself around Ash's arm and pecked him on the cheek sweetly.

"Victini vi," Victini, now visible to the gang sat on Ash's other shoulder and hugged his neck.

Ash began to blush red from the affection and grinned sheepishly, "You guys are the best."

As they walked for a bit, a thought came through Ash's mind, "Although I do wish we could've talked to Mr. Gold after all that. I wanted to ask how the filming went."

"Supposedly, he left in a hurry. No surprise since movie producers often have a tight schedule," Cilan explained to Ash.

"We'll see him again someday though," May stated, still holding onto Ash.

"And I can't wait to see the movie on the big screen," Iris added.

"Well, now that that's over with. We still have some missions to complete and getting you to compete in a contest and win your next ribbon, May," Ash looked at his beloved with a sweet smile.

May returned her gesture and with one arm still wrapped around Ash, May used the other to make a fist and spoke with confidence, "You bet; now it's my turn to shine and I can't wait."

Ash and the others admired May's fiery determination and continued walking toward wherever adventure awaited them.

**Ok this chapter is simplistic in overall concept but I don't know happened. I guess I got a little too creative although it is very different from typical gym battles. Hope you enjoyed it anyway, once again I apologize for the length and since I was really tired and sick while typing this I'm sure there tons of minor to major grammar errors and such. Still, hope you liked it, stick around to see May compete for her ribbon and all the other challenges these guys have waiting for them. Till next time!**


	28. Troublesome Trio Attack

Chapter 28: Electricity

"Volcarona, summon your Heat Wave and hit Lucario," Alder stood firm as he spoke.

Volcarona formed a red-orange ball in front of it and then blasted a blazing red wind at Lucario. Roxas smirked and spoke, _it's going to take more than that, _"Lucario, dodge using ExtremeSpeed." The black-coated boy stood calmly with his arms lowered while he made his command.

Lucario's appendages raised and white aura enveloped it; the Fighting-type then nimbly dodged the Heat Wave and rushed at Volcarona. When it was close enough, it smirked at it confidently, "Dark Pulse," Roxas ordered.

"Quick, stop it with Hyper Beam!" Alder's eyes widened when he saw Lucario just an inch from Volcarona's face.

Lucario put its hands together in front of its chest and fired a beam of black and purple circles from in between them at Volcarona. Volcarona had no time to react and Dark Pulse hit the Bug-type dead on, causing an explosion and Volcarona shot out of it, sustaining great damage.

Before it could hit the floor though, Roxas instructed something else, "End this with ExtremeSpeed." Lucario's appendages rose again and Lucario ran as fast as wind towards Volcarona.

"Volcarona, pull yourself together and stop Lucario with Bug Buzz!" Alder extended his arm forward while yelling.

Volcarona gained its composure in midair and screeched loudly, emitting powerful red waves to spread in all directions. Lucario, however, kept rushing towards and Alder watched in disbelief, before long, Lucario leaped into the air and bashed Volcarona. Sending the Fire-type flying harshly against a tree and then dropping to the ground unconscious.

"Finished," Roxas smirked as Lucario back flipped back and stood next to Roxas.

"Volcarona, you put up a terrific fight, rest now," Alder recalled his Pokémon and put the Pokéball away.

Alder then turned to Roxas and smiled, "Your abilities exceed mine in ways I cannot describe Roxas. The rumors of your strength do not lie."

"I suppose," the sapphire-eyed teen crossed his arms with an unconvinced look.

"This is my second time losing to you and I can't help but wonder, with such great power you would make a marvelous a Unova League Champion," Alder walked toward Roxas and complimented his abilities.

Roxas sighed and replied, "As luxurious as the position sounds, you know I cannot settle for something like that at the moment."

"Clearly," Alder nodded and sighed, "You have more important things to focus your attention on."

"You may be getting old Alder, but your power is still fit enough for a champ. Now let's take a break and relax," Roxas suggested.

Alder bobbed his head. Roxas walked over to the cliff behind them with Lucario and sat on the large bedrock there with his companion. The champion followed close behind and stood next to the rock while gazing at Virbank City from the grassy cliff.

"Here," the red-haired champ spoke and reached into his satchel and took out three Oran berries.

He handed one to Roxas and Lucario while keeping one for himself. _Thank you, _Lucario responded as he took it from Alder's hand and began to eat it quietly. Roxas took a small bite and enjoyed the sweet flavor of the berry as he stared at the large city lying under the night sky.

"Tomorrow we must meet up with the Elite Four and discuss a plan on how to deal with the current crisis on our hands. They must not be happy with the way Castelia City turned out," Alder began to speak in order to break the silence.

Roxas nodded in agreement, "I'm sure that with them now fully understanding the direness of this situation, they will do everything in their power to stop both Team Plasmas and their allies."

"Indeed," Alder responded.

Silence soon followed, the only noises heard were that of the howling wind and rustling of leaves. Roxas broke this quietness with a comment though," Alder, what you said about me being a League Champion, I want you to know it's not that I don't want to, I would certainly accept that position when my responsibilities have been done and this is all over. Right now though, the only reason I sound distasteful about holding that position in any part of the world is because the circumstances don't allow me that pleasure."

"I'm aware of that, you realize there are rumors lurking among the alliance that you aren't…well…from this time and the idea of you being related to the teenage pair we met earlier today. Even though you continue to deny it," Alder spoke, uncertain if he had touched a nerve by talking about the topic they were entering.

"Those rumors shall stay rumors until I clarify them myself. The only important thing most of the alliance should focus on is the mission at hand, not where I am from or who I am related to," Roxas answered with an annoyed and stern tone.

"Mmmmm," Alder nodded.

Roxas let out a deep breath and talked, "Although, there is one thing the alliance may know about me. Once this is all over, I'll disappear from the eye of the world and live the life my parents once lived, the one I would definitely enjoy, especially traveling with Lucario," the raven-haired teen smiled at his partner, who gave Roxas a serious gaze, but then returned a smile.

"I'd go out on a real journey, battle gym leaders, compete in Pokémon Leagues, collect ribbons, participate in Grand Festivals," Roxas looked up at the stars and grinned.

Alder continued to look at the city and asked, "What's it like there?"

Roxas's eyes motioned back to Virbank City and replied, "It's everything this place isn't, here, the grass is green, the flowers flourish, the sun baths the land with its heat, the water is blue. The most accurate term for my home, would be lifeless, if you're not strong, you won 't survive."

Alder became disturbed by Roxas's description of where he was from, but then inquired, "I can believe how you manage to survive in such a place. Your strength surpasses almost anyone I've known, including the members of the Elite Four and for some so young, after all, you're only 17."

Roxas closed his eyes and smirked, "My dad would always say that about me, but it wasn't easy to get where my power is now, especially at this age. I traveled a lot when I was younger, I met many people during my travels, my Pokémon and I trained under them. We learned many strategies from them and developed many forms of combat. I'd train with Lucario and my other Pokémon in the hottest deserts, the coldest mountains." Images of himself and Lucario formed in his mind, he could remember the sweating and bleeding alongside Lucario, practicing various martial arts with him, kicking and punching wooden posts under the blazing sun until the splinters had gotten to deep into his skin and the wooden posts had snapped from the constant bashing. Lucario and he would also practice many forms of fighting on the ice, from swordplay, they'd have to learn how to sprint on ice with cracking it and falling into the cold water until Roxas's Charizard had no choice but to get them out. In the desert, there only form of staying hydrated was drinking cactus juice, but their determination was the only force keeping them alive in the end.

"The hardships of the training were endless; they forced us to run up the highest dunes I had ever seen in my life. They made us scale mountains as high as Mt. Coronet, I nearly died several times, but with luck and stubbornness, I overcame. I remember people claiming I had gotten those two qualities from my mom and dad."

"Amazing," Alder's eyes shined with disbelief, he himself had traveled a lifetime, but not in the extreme form Roxas described. A thought then struck the man's mind and he questioned, "With you living this type of life, where were your parents, where are they now? Do they even know you're here?"

"I'm sure they know, but ever since I began my travels, my parents went to an unreachable place. I can't see them, but they can see me, and it'll be a long time before I meet up with them again," Roxas looked back up at the sky.

"They must proud of you," Alder responded.

Roxas smiled and replied, "May be, I feel like I haven't reached that point with them yet. My parents left before I traveled and before they did, they would always say they were proud, but I wasn't sure why. I hadn't done anything grand to make them feel like that, now though, I know there is something I can do that will actually make them feel proud of me and I feel like that's my ultimate goal, make my parents proud. I promised I would never let them down because they always believed in me like I always believed in them." The boy's gaze softened as he talked about his beloved parents and his desire to make them proud.

The champ smiled and spoke, "I hope you reach that goal then."

Roxas nodded, "I hope the same."

"Tell something, was your family only you three?" Alder questioned.

"There was one other person, who I care for just as much as them," Roxas smiled as his eyes glistened.

"Who?" Alder raised an eyebrow.

"My sister," Roxas responded.

* * *

**The following day at noon…**

"Emo," an Emolga lied on the lake shore, relaxing under the sun.

"Pal," a Palpitoad rested on a lily pad near the lake shore Emolga rested on.

"Stun," a Stunfisk rested on the surface of the water, enjoying the rays of the sun while hanging out near the Palpitoad and Emolga.

"This looks like a perfect spot for lunch," a voice said, catching the attention of the three relaxed Pokémon.

"You bet!" a few more voices were heard and the trio identified the direction of the voices.

The group of three saw some humans straight ahead, approaching their lake with Pikachu, an Axew, and a Victini. The trio's stress-free faces transformed into glares and they all looked at each other.

"Emolga," Emolga nodded angrily.

"Palpitoad," Palpitoad gritted his teeth.

"Stunfisk," Stunfisk glared irritably.

Emolga then flew into the trees while the other two Pokémon went underwater.

"This spot also looks perfect for training," Ash made a fist and smiled anxiously.

"No doubt," May smiled and admired the sparkly blue lake.

"It also looks like a nice place to play," Iris clasped her hands together and grinned joyfully.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu cheered at the site they were on.

"Ax axew," Axew also said happily.

"V vi tini," Victini's eyes glistened with joy as it looked at the beautiful spot.

"Hey, why don't you guys go train and play while I get cooking?" Cilan recommended and smiled.

"Great idea," May agreed.

"While we're on it, let's get out all of our Pokémon for some fresh air!" Ash took out all of his Pokéballs.

"Right," May grinned and reached for her Pokéballs, Cilan did the same and they all threw their Pokéballs upward, "Come out everyone!" May cheered.

From the Pokéballs emerged Snivy, Oshawott, Scraggy, Tranquil, the Tepigs, Blaziken, Liepard, Deerling, Petilil, Dwebble, and Pansage. Axew and Pikachu then jumped off their trainers and landed among the Pokémon. The group of Pokémon then looked at their trainers and smiled joyfully.

"Petilil, how about you and I train for our next contest together?" May suggested with a warm smile.

"Petilil," Petilil nodded happily.

"Oshawott, why don't you I get some training done too, I want to see more of that Hydro Pump," Ash smiled at the otter.

"Osha," Oshawott gladly nodded.

"Ash, would you like to train with Petilil and me?" May asked her boyfriend.

"Sure, it'll make great practice for my next gym battle," Ash gladly agreed.

"And why don't the rest of you come with me and we'll play a game, I have a ball," Iris suggested to the others and revealed a ball around the size of a volleyball.

Pikachu, Axew, Blaziken, Pansage, and the other Pokémon responded cheerfully. Iris smiled and said, "Well then, c'mon!" The girl then ran off with the Pokémon following close behind her.

"And I'll get cooking," Cilan smiled and took his equipment to go cook somewhere nearby.

"Victini vi tini," Victini smiled at Ash while hovering around him and May.

"Victini, don't you want to go play with Iris and the others?" Ash inquired.

"Tini," Victini shook its head sideways and landed on May's shoulder, grinning.

"Well ok then," Ash smiled sheepishly, seeing how Victini still refuses to be with the other Pokémon except for Liepard and Pikachu.

"Victini you're going to see me perform for the first time, isn't that exciting?" May asked.

"Tini vi!" Victini nodded joyfully.

"Right, let's get started then," Ash said and smiling eagerly, the auburn-eyed teen then got in a position for the battle.

"I'm right with you," May smiled enthusiastically and got in a position as well.

Ash and May smiled at each other from opposite directions while their Pokémon stood in front of each other and smirked. Victini sat quietly on May's shoulder, this would be the first time it sees the pair battle against each other and so watched intently to see who the stronger one was.

"Oshawott, let's give it a Water Gun!" Ash pointed at Petilil.

"Oshaaawooott!" Oshawott shot out a stream of water.

"Petilil, counter Water Gun with Magical Leaf!" May pointed at the incoming pressurized stream of water.

"Peti!" Petilil frowned; summoning colorful energy leaves and launched the barrage at Water Gun.

When the two attacks were about to hit though, the Magical Leaf split into 3 sets, the middle set hit Water Gun and they canceled each other out by causing a small explosion while the left and right set charged at Oshawott.

Ash's eyes widened, not expecting May to attack like that, but the trainer knew just how to counter and grinned confidently, "Oshawott, counter with Razor Shell!"

Oshawott smirked and transformed its shell into a blue blade and prepared for the incoming energy leaves. Without a moment's waste, Oshawott leaped into the air and slashed each energy leave into oblivion. The otter landed back on the ground while the chopped leaves dropped to the ground and faded into nothing. "Osha," Oshawott smirked and placed his scalchop back on his belly.

"May that was a good sneak attack, I didn't even use it as well as you did when I battled Burgh using that strategy," Ash complimented his girlfriend, remembering how the technique May used right now had also been used on Burgh in his gym battle.

"Thanks Ash, but your strategy still came out on top, you and Oshawott are definitely on a roll lately," May complimented back and smiled.

"Yeah, but I don't think that'll be enough to beat you," Ash said, continuing to smile with excitement from the training.

"Oshawott, let's go for an Aqua Jet!" Ash extended his arm forward with his palm opened.

Oshawott braced itself and a blue water-like aura enveloped it and the otter shot towards Petilil full speed like a watery bullet. "Oshawoooott!" Oshawott cried out as it charged at Petilil.

"Petilil, use Magical Leaf again!" May extended her arm to the right.

"Petilil!" Petilil repeated its attack and unleashed at the barrage at Oshawott.

"Dodge them all the leaves as best as you can Oshawott and keep going!" Ash still posed the same as before while making his command.

Oshawott charged into the Magical Leaf barrage, leaving May and Petilil confused, but then they were shocked when they Oshawott dodging every leaf coming its way. The otter went left, right, up, and down as the leaves kept coming, but none hit Oshawott, he was an unstoppable jet of water.

May's shock quickly faded though and the brunette smirked as Oshawott just about came out of the Magical Leaf tunnel. "Stun Spore!" May exclaimed.

"Peeetiiiilil!" Petilil blew out a heavy shower of sparkling white powder as soon as Oshawott came out of the Magical Leaf attack.

"Oshawott, look out!" Ash yelled, but it was too late.

"Osha!" Oshawott's eyes widened when it saw Stun Spore and was unable to spot.

The paralyzing powder stopped Oshawott in its tracks and paralyzed the Water-type, causing it to drop on the ground as well as cancelling out Aqua Jet. Oshawott slowly got up, but groaned as the powder continued to hover around it.

"Redirect our Magical Leaf," May smirked.

The Magical Leaf that Oshawott had dodged before then surprisingly made a U-turn and aimed back at Oshawott. "Wha?!" Ash's jaw dropped in shock.

"Magical Leaf never misses, remember Ash?" May winked at Ash in a flirting fashion. In return, all Ash could do was grind his teeth in frustration.

Petilil smirked and Magical Leaf started to charge at Oshawott with a phenomenal pace. "Oshawott, get out of there!" Ash shouted, but it was no use, Stun Spore, left Oshawott dragging its body in an attempt to move out of the way.

"No use Ash, Oshawott's paralyzed," May smiled confidently and then Magical Leaf hit Oshawott directly.

"Oshaaaawooooott!" Oshawott cried out as Magical Leaf cut against the otter's skin and sent the otter flying.

The rainbow-colored energy leaves and sparkle of Stun Spore blended together in the air and left a colorful, sparkling sensation in the air, and with sunlight, the magical leaves reflected multicolored rays all over the battlefield. It was a beautiful sight; the place looked like a rainbow of colorful leaves with the addition of sparkling powder. May and Petilil smiled at their result while Ash watched with amazement.

_That must be one of the combinations May taught Petilil, it'll be a good one if she uses it in her contests, _Ash admired the combination presentation and smiled at May, who shrugged her shoulders and giggled. The raven-haired teen then turned to Oshawott though and saw it in pain, knowing the battle was clearly in favor of May, he grinded his teeth.

The Sea Otter Pokémon flew back and landed on the grassy floor while Petilil and May smirked. Ash continued to grit his teeth, but spoke, "Oshawott, get back up and use Water Gun!"

"Osh," Oshawott slowly got up and raised its head while glaring at Petilil, the otter then released the Water-type attack.

"Ash, that won't be enough, Petilil, let's counter it with Magical Leaf!" May extended her arm forward.

Petilil used the same attack and countered Water Gun, with the two attacks clashing, having no result. "Now use Aqua Jet!" Ash ordered and Oshawott, while fighting against its paralyzed state developed a water aura and charged into the stream of water from Water Gun and then burst out while dodging the Magical Leaf.

"But how?" May's eyes widened.

"Oshawott and I've trained hard too May, one of Oshawott's greatest abilities is its resilience and it won't let a simple Stun Spore stop it from winning," Ash smiled at her as Oshawott endured the pain of Stun Spore and kept going.

"Now, use the momentum from Aqua Jet and wrap this up with Tackle!" Ash pumped his fist into the air.

Still groaning, Oshawott endured the pain and screamed, "Oooooshaaaaawooooott!" Blasting out of the Aqua Jet, Oshawott charged at Petilil in plain form, but as fast as ever and delivered a mighty Tackle that sent Petilil flying.

"Peeeeee!" Petilil yelled as it went back and hit the ground.

Oshawott dropped on its feet and panted heavily while still fighting back its paralyzed state. Petilil groaned as it tried to get back up, but Ash's didn't waste a minute to make his next move, "Oshawott, wrap this up with Hydro Pump!"

Oshawott pulled its head back and released the powerful pressurized stream of water with full force. "Ooooshaaaawooooott!" Oshawott exclaimed and opened its mouth, releasing Hydro Pump.

May gasped while Petilil failed to get up and suffered the full power of Hydro Pump. Petilil squealed in pain and landed on the floor again after taking the heavy hit. "Peeeee…" Petilil moaned with swirl eyes.

"Wow, I should've seen that one coming," May sighed and returned Petilil, "Petilil, you were great, enjoy a good long rest," the brunette told the Pokémon while grinning.

"Oshawott, you did awesome, here you go," Ash took a Cheri Berry from his pocket and fed it to Oshawott, magically recovering Oshawott's paralysis.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott smiled at Ash.

"Vi victini," Victini spoke to May with a comforting tone and looked at the girl with a sweet gaze.

"I'm not sad Victini, there's always next time," May winked at the Fire-type, who in return smiled back happily and hugged her.

"May, you were awesome," Ash walked over to the girl with Oshawott, praising her skill in their battle.

"Thanks Ash, but I still need to practice some more before I can catch up with you," May smiled sheepishly.

Suddenly, two attacks burst out of the water that appeared to be a Hydro Pump and ThunderShock and both were aimed at Ash and May. "What's that?!" Ash and May exclaimed with fear.

"Victini!" Victini's eyes widened with shock, but wasted no time from flying off May's shoulder and got between the double attack and its parents.

Its eyes began to glow blue and so did the two attacks. "Tini!" Victini frowned and launched the two attacks back in the water, causing an explosion and the water shot up about twelve feet into the air.

"Whoa," Ash gazed when that happened while May also stared.

Oshawott also watched and couldn't help but wonder just how strong Victini was after seeing it do that.

Victini lowered a bit and flew over to Ash and May. Ash looked at Victini and smiled, "Thanks for protecting us Victini."

"You don't know how great it is to have you around," May hugged the little one and Victini smiled happily.

"Osha osha," Oshawott cheered and thanked Victini as well

"Where did that come from though," Ash scratched the back of his head while wondering.

"I'm not sure, I didn't see that well, but it's gone now," May replied while looking in the direction from where it came.

"Yeah, guess it doesn't matter anymore," Ash responded, but still curious.

"Let's head back to Cilan now, the food must almost be ready," May told Ash and nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Pika," Pikachu hit the pink ball back with its tail.

"Blaze," hit the ball with its palm and passed it to Dwebble.

"Dweb," Dwebble leaned forward and bounced, hitting the ball with the rock on its back.

"Ax," Axew used its head to hit it back.

"Hit it Liepard," Iris smiled and hit the ball at Liepard and the process of passing the ball back among the Pokémon and Iris continued as they laughed playfully.

Just when the ball was coming right at Pansage and the monkey prepared to smack the ball, a Discharge burst out from one of the bushes. "Pansage?" Pansage narrowly dodged the incoming Electric-type attack.

All the Pokémon quickly turned to the bush from where it shot out. "What was that?" Iris caught the ball and became concerned, eyeing the bush from where Discharge came from.

"Foongus foongus foongus," about a dozen Foongus jumped out of the bush, all glaring at the gang.

"Emol," an Emolga also jumped out of the bush and stood behind the Foongus while smirking.

The Pokémon gasped when they their attackers while Iris exclaimed, "It's a group of Foongus and an Emolga!"

"Emolga emo!" Emolga pointed at the group.

"Fooooongus!" the Foongus said simultaneously and released a volley of Energy Ball.

"Everyone dodge!" Iris yelled and leaped out of the way.

All the Energy Ball missed, but the blasts caused several explosions while the Foongus prepared to charge another volley of Energy Ball.

"Iris!" Iris heard her name get called out by Ash and turned around see Ash, May, Oshawott, and Victini.

"Ash, May!" Iris shouted, the girl obviously glad to see them.

"What's going on?" May saw the Foongus preparing to attack and an Emolga commanding them.

"We're being attacked by Foongus and Emolga! Get out of the way!" Iris pushed Ash and May out of the way and the gang narrowly dodged yet another volley of Energy Ball.

"Foongus?" Ash got up and took out his Pokédex.

"Emolga?" May took out her Pokédex.

"Foongus, the Mushroom Pokémon. Foongus release poisonous spores to repel anyone who tries to catch them. For unknown reasons, they resemble Poké Balls." The mechanic voice of Ash's Pokédex informed.

"Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokémon. Emolga lives in trees and uses its cape-like membrane to glide through the air." May's Pokédex stated.

"Emo!" Emolga commanded.

"Fooooon," Foongus charged up Energy Ball again.

"Looks like they're going to attack again," Ash's eyes widened with fear.

"Move out of the way!" May shouted and pulled Ash away while the Foongus unleashed Energy Ball, once again missing all of the Pokémon and teens.

"What's going on?" Cilan rushed over to the gang with his bowl and wooden spoon.

"We're being attacked by wild Pokémon, what does it look like?!" Iris shouted.

"By Foongus and Emolga, shouldn't we battle them?" Cilan inquired when he saw the attackers.

"Foongus!" a Foongus shot an Energy Ball at Cilan.

Iris quickly pulled him away, causing him to drop his bowl and spoon. The purple-haired girl then glared at him, "Don't you think we thought of that. Those Foongus aren't giving us a chance to do anything; it's like a shower of Energy Ball."

"Victini," Victini looked nervous and hid behind Ash and May as they jumped and ran from every Energy Ball coming at them.

Emolga began to grit its teeth and face palmed itself. "Emo emolga!" Emolga commanded.

"Foooon," the Foongus lined up and released PoisonPowder.

The purple powder spread like gas and this time, none of the Pokémon were able to dodge, except for Oshawott and Victini, who hid behind Ash and May in an attempt to avoid. All the Pokémon attempted to dodge it, but it was too late, soon they all fell like rocks with a purple spot underneath all their noses.

Emolga smirked and noticed a table with food and Cilan's backpack on top of it. The Electric-type licked its lips and dashed off to the table at a quick speed and snatched the food and Cilan's supplies.

Cilan quickly noticed and yelled, "Emolga's taking the food and our stuff!"

"Emo!" Emolga winked at them and stuck its tongue out as it flew back into the forest.

The Foongus smirked and also ran back into the forest, leaving behind about a dozen poisoned Pokémon.

"Blaz…blaz," Blaziken panted as it lied there on the ground.

"Pi…pika…pi," Pikachu also panted.

The other Pokémon also panted heavily, as they lied on the grass helplessly. "This is awful," Iris stood up and looked at all the Pokémon.

May also stood up and gazed at their Pokémon, "All our Pokémon have been poisoned, what are we going to do?"

"There's not even a Pokémon Center miles from here," Ash sighed, staring sadly at his Pokémon, especially Pikachu.

"Viiiii….," Victini wished he could do something while Oshawott watched his comrades lie there in pain.

"Well, I think we have one solution," Cilan stated, looking just as sad as his friends.

"What's that?" Iris, Ash, and May asked simultaneously.

"We could see if there's any Remeyo weed around here, Remeyo weed is used to heal poisoned Pokémon," Cilan informed the trio of a possible solution.

"How will we know if there's some here though?" May inquired.

"I've got that covered," Cilan took out what looked like a small tablet from his pocket, it was yellow and blue in color, all of sudden, an image of their location appeared on the screen. Cilan tapped the screen a few times until red dots showed up the lake nearby, "Perfect, there's Remeyo weed just underwater in that lake. If we just go swim there, we're bound to find some," Cilan pointed to the lake near them.

"Great, then I'll go get some Remeyo weed with Oshawott," Ash volunteered and looked down at his friend.

"Osha," Oshawott had his arms crossed and smiled confidently.

"I'll go with you, something tells me this place is inhabited by aggressive Pokémon at every corner," the green-eyed connoisseur said.

"We did get attacked by a Hydro Pump and a ThunderShock earlier. It looked like it came from the lake," May told Cilan.

"Then my hunch must be correct, we'll have to be careful," Cilan spoke with a stern tone.

"What about your stuff, Cilan?" Ash questioned the older male.

Before Cilan could answer, Iris cut him, "I'll go after Cilan's stuff and retrieve it from Emolga. You guys go get that Remeyo weed."

Cilan turned to Iris and smiled, "Thank you Iris, I appreciate it."

Iris felt a light blush coming on, but she turned away and uncomfortably responded, "It's no problem Cilan."

"I'll stay here to take care of the Pokemon," May told the gang.

"Right, I think it's best if you stay here and look after the Pokémon. Who knows, those Foongus may come back," Ash said to the coordinator, confident in her abilities as a nurturing mother.

Ash then turned to Victini, who stood next to his leg, "Victini, you should stay here with mama and take care of the Pokémon too."

"Victini," Victini nodded obediently and flew over to May and hovered next to her.

May smiled at Victini and prepared to take care of the Pokémon with her "child". "Alright, you guys be careful ok?" May showed concern for her friends.

"No worries," Ash, Cilan, and Iris said at the same time.

With that said and done, the trio spread out on their different tasks while May stayed to care of the Pokémon with Victini.

* * *

"So it's underwater right?" Ash said, looking at the lake. From the time they left May, Ash had changed to his swimming trunks and prepared to go for a swim.

"Correct," Cilan responded.

"K, Oshawott and I'll go underwater; you cover for us if any trouble Cilan," Ash told the green-haired teen, who nodded in response.

Ash put on a mouthpiece that would allow him to breathe and talk underwater, "Here goes," the boy said. The raven-haired teen then jumped into the water.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott jumped right behind him as well.

The two opened their eyes and found themselves underwater; the area was pretty rock with not much vegetation or Pokémon wandering. "Let's go Oshawott," Ash told his Pokémon and began to swim to the lower levels of the lake.

For several minutes they had no trouble swimming to the lower parts of the lake. They hadn't run into trouble and the only issue would be going into the small areas where the Remeyo weed would be found, but Oshawott could easily swim into those parts.

"Oshawott, at this pace we'll get things done in no time," Ash spoke through his mouthpiece.

"Osha osha," Oshawott nodded happily, hoping to get this done quick so its friends may recover.

Suddenly, a volley of Bubblebeam shot out from their right. Ash spotted the incoming attack and spoke, "Oshawott dodge the Bubblebeam!" The pair narrowly dodged the attack by swimming away, but they looked in the direction from where it came.

There in the distance they saw a group of Tympole coming their way. "Us and our big mouths, the Tympole are attacking us. Oshawott, looks like we're going to have to battle," Ash spoke to the Sea Otter Pokémon.

"Osha," Oshawott nodded.

The Tympole smirked at the pair and began to shout loudly, releasing blue-colored rings from their mouths and coming straight at Oshawott. "Oshawott, dodge the Hyper Voice and use Aqua Jet and Razor Shell at the same time to strike those Tympole down!" Ash pointed at the group of six troublesome Tadpole Pokémon.

Oshawott smirked at the Tympole and then became enveloped in dark-colored water. "Oshawott!" the Pokémon blasted off and thanks to the speed of Aqua Jet, Oshawott easily dodged Hyper Voice. The otter then stuck out its scalchop while moving and turned it into blade.

The Tympole desperately tried to hit Oshawott with BubbleBeam, but the fast movements of Aqua Jet allowed Oshawott to move freely as it bashed and slashed each Tympole it got near to.

"Tym," a Tympole cried when Oshawott hit it with Aqua Jet.

"Pole," another squealed when Razor Shell hit them.

Eventually Oshawott stopped in front of the Tympole, smirking arrogantly while the Tympole gave the otter Pokémon frightened gazes and swam away as fast as possible. Ash chuckled and spoke, "Well that was easy, but now that that's done, let's get going."

"Stun," something called out."

"Huh?" Ash turned around and saw nothing but a rock among the sandy floor.

"Fisk," Stunfisk revealed itself among the sand and smirked at Oshawott and Ash.

"What's that?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Osh?" Oshawott looked at it as well.

"Stuuunfiiiiisk!" the brown fish exclaimed and shot out a ThunderShock.

"Oshaaaaaa!" Oshawott cried out.

"Doesn't seem friendly," Ash spoke as electricity coursed through his body.

At that moment, the two were blasted out of the lake like rockets and landed back on shore where Cilan was. "That's shocking," Ash had a dazed look when he landed on the grass.

"Oshawott," Oshawott mimicked Ash.

"Ash, Oshawott, what happened?!" Cilan shouted when he saw them.

Ash took off his mouthpiece, then slowly got up and spoke, "We got shocked by some Pokémon."

"Stunfisk," the Pokémon appeared on the surface and smirked at Ash and Oshawott.

"Is it that Pokémon?" Cilan asked.

"That's the one!" Ash yelled angrily when it saw it.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott got up and exclaimed furiously when it saw it.

"This could be trouble," Cilan said when he saw the Stunfisk.

All of a sudden, water from the surface burst upwards. "What now?" Ash gasped when he saw the water violently shoot up.

When the water finally came down, another creature revealed itself, it stood on a lily pad and had an annoyed look on its face. "Palpitoad," the Palpitoad glared at the trio.

"Yeah, this is definitely trouble," Cilan commented.

"And it's double," Ash gritted his teeth when he saw Palpitoad and Stunfisk together, both of them glaring at him, Cilan, and Oshawott.

* * *

"Hmmmm," Iris kneeled and examined some small footprints on the ground. She touched the footprint and rubbed off any dirt she got. She observed the area carefully, the only thing she could hear was chirping, but then she sniffed the air and looked to the right, where a bunch of trees were jumbled up together.

The girl stood up and gazed in that direction, "I'm almost positive Emolga went in that direction, my senses don't lie." The purple-haired girl then ran off in that direction, jumping over logs, swinging with vines and sprinting across the forest.

Her wild girl attitude then came to a halt when she stopped in front of a tree and saw eating utensils and a few broken plates lying at the base of a tree. "Hey, this is Cilan's stuff," Iris ran up to the base of the tree and looked at the objects.

"He's not going to be happy when he finds out about his plates," Iris sighed, feeling sorry for the guy as she tried to place some of the pieces together like a puzzle until she felt something hit her head, making her eyes widen from the pain and the object seemed to crack in the process.

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as the pieces of what appeared to be another plate, fell off her head, "Ow," the girl simply said and dropped the fork she was holding. She quickly shook her head to get rid of the pain and looked up to see none other than Emolga holding Cilan's backpack and eating a sandwich.

"You!" Iris pointed at Emolga angrily.

"Emo?" Emolga looked down and saw Iris glaring at her.

"Emolga, give me back my friend's stuff!" Iris shouted at the Flying Squirrel Pokémon.

"Emo emolga emo," Emolga chuckled and then let out a deep breath. The Electric-type began to smirk and snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, the dozen Foongus from before popped out of the bushes and appeared in front Iris, ready to protect their master. They all looked very angry and repeated "Foongus."

"Uh-oh," Iris became slightly frightened and took a step back while the Foongus took a step closer. "I don't have any Pokémon to defend myself with, except for…" Iris thought in her head, _I have no other choice, I have to call him, _the purple-haired girl grabbed a Pokéball and threw it, "Excadrill, help me out!"

From the Pokéball emerged a moderate-sized Pokémon, but it appeared curled up. Its primary color was brown, but had red patterning around its body and gray-colored forelimbs. "Excadrill, use Metal Claw!" Iris pointed at the Foongus.

Iris continued to point at the Foongus, but the only movement was the wind and a tumbleweed passed by. The purple-haired girl lowered her head since Excadrill failed to obey and remained curled up. Iris sighed and spoke, "Now what?"

Emolga giggled at Iris and the brown-eyed glared at the Flying-type. "Fine, then I'll have to do it myself!" Iris ran up to the tree frustrated, but was quickly stopped by the Foongus.

"Emo!" Emolga cried out.

"Foon," the Foongus glared at Iris and unleashed a barrage of Energy Ball.

"Not good!" Iris ran across the place, only just dodging the incoming Energy Balls. She jumped over them, ducked from them, swerved from them, but no human had unlimited energy. As Iris helplessly dodged every Energy Ball, the girl quickly began to tire and had a harder time dodging the Energy Balls.

"I…don't…know….if…I…can….do….this….any…more," Iris panted as she jumped, ducked, and ran.

Emolga enjoyed the hilarious stunts pulled off by Iris and took joy out of her misery. She then took a look at Excadrill and spoke, "Emolga emo emolga (looks like your trainer is just as pathetic as you)." The Flying Squirrel Pokémon then proceeded to throw the half-eaten sandwich at Excadrill.

"Excadrill!" Iris exclaimed when she saw the sandwich hit the Subterre Pokémon, a bit of the mayonnaise from the sandwich got on the Pokémon's claws. The Foongus then stopped their assault and turned to Excadrill, waiting for it to react.

All of a sudden, Excadrill's gray claws burst out from their position and the Pokémon came out of its curled up position. It got on its feet and revealed itself. It had a pink-tipped snout, white face, and like its forelimbs, it had gray-colored jagged features on its head. "Excadrill!" the Pokémon roared and shrugged off the mayonnaise from its claw.

"Excadrill!" Iris clasped her hands together with joy.

The Ground-type ignored Iris and glared at Emolga. "Emo," Emolga smirked at the Steel-type and talked, "Emolga!" the Electric-type Pokémon commanded the Foongus.

"Foongus!" the Foongus unleashed a volley of Energy Ball at Excadrill.

"Excadrill!" Excadrill exclaimed and used Metal Claw. The Steel-type lunged at the Energy Balls with its glowing pair of claws and slashed each attack like it was nothing. The Subterre Pokémon then dug its claws into the dirt and grabbed large amounts of dirt.

"Drill!" Excadrill threw the dirt at the Foongus.

"That's Mud-Slap!" Iris admired Excadrill's abilities and smiled when it saw how easily it was dominating the battle.

The Foongus tried to counter with Clear Smog, but Mud-Slap was clearly the stronger move and the dozen Foongus flew everyway after the hurled dirt hit them. While still on the ground and groaning in pain, Excadrill braced itself by making its claws glow and then rushed at every Foongus and slashed them aggressively.

"Excadrill!" Excadrill slashed one Foongus so violently, it sent the Mushroom Pokémon flying deep into the jungle. It then continued to mercilessly beat every Foongus until they were all left unconscious. The last Foongus merely dropped to the ground after Excadrill stroke it down like a samurai.

"Nice job Excadrill, now its Emolga's turn!" Iris jumped in joy and smiled confidently at the Flying Squirrel Pokémon.

"Excadrill," Excadrill furiously focused its eyes on Emolga.

"Emol?" Emolga looked around, seeing all of her Foongus henchmen down; the Electric-type sighed and slowly dropped to the ground.

"Emolga," Emolga smirked at the angry-looking Excadrill.

* * *

"I hope Ash, Cilan, and Iris get back soon, the Pokémon's condition is getting worse," May placed a towel over Pikachu's head.

"Pi…..ka," Pikachu continued pant while May positioned the towel properly over its forehead.

Victini placed a towel over Pansage's head and looked sadly at the monkey and every other Pokémon. It then proceeded to putting one on Axew, "V…." Victini became saddened as it could feel the panting of the Pokémon get heavier.

"V…tini…" Victini went up to May after a towel on the last of the Pokémon.

May placed a towel over Blaziken and positioned it correctly as the great Fire-type panted heavily. "Don't worry Victini, Ash, Iris, and Cilan, well get back soon with the stuff we need to heal them, we just have to be patient," the brunette said weakly, rubbing away tears trying to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Victini vi," Victini hugged May and cried in her chest.

May hugged Victini back and spoke, "I wish we could something right now that would alleviate the situation too Victini, but all we can do right now is wait and hope."

"Vi…" Victini moaned in sadness as May felt more tears wet her shirt.

May looked at the Pokémon and felt her eyes watering a bit, _Ash…hurry….._the brunette thought in her head.

* * *

"Stunfiiisk!" Stunfisk released ThunderShock.

"Oshawott, dodge with Aqua Jet!" Ash yelled.

Oshawott jetted across the lake, narrowly dodging the lightning strike. "Palpitoooaaaad!" Palpitoad stuck its tongue and swung, causing various shots of mud to come out flying.

"Oshawott, keep dodging!" Ash shouted.

"I have a feeling these are the two that attacked May and me earlier, well now it's time for some payback," Ash glared at Palpitoad while mumbling.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott frantically avoided the volley of mud balls and narrowly dodged most of them, except the last one. The Mud Shot hit Oshawott right in the face and sent the otter crashing to the ground like missile, "Oshaaaawooott!" Oshawott cried out in pain when it hit the ground.

When the dust from the impact vanished, Oshawott groaned and got up, bits of mud still on its face. "Osha oshawott," the Pokémon gritted its teeth and had one eye closed from the pain it felt after being smacked by the mud and landing hard on the ground.

"This isn't good, it's two against one and Oshawott is still weak from training with Petilil," Ash grinded his teeth because of the anxiousness.

"Stunfisk," Stunfisk chuckled.

"Palpitoad," Palpitoad smirked.

"Ash, allow me to assist you with this!" Cilan shouted and Ash turned his friend.

In his hand Cilan held something that resembled a pen, "What's that?" Ash asked.

"Let me introduce you to the finest and most superb rod you'll have come across in your life, and with my expertise in fishing. You are standing before the most powerful weapon in the field of fishing, my friend. Prepare yourself; you're going see the most incredible moment of your life!" Cilan swung his pen-like item forward and from it snapped out the extensive feature of the fishing rod, from the butt to the tip-top from where a Cilan-shaped lure hung.

"Gee Cilan, that's great and all, but can get moving, we don't have much time!" Ash yelled at Cilan with his teeth becoming razor sharp and his eyes turning into fire, causing the gym leader to become frighten.

Cilan smiled sheepishly and stepped away from the angry boy. "Of course," Cilan chuckled and then turned to Stunfisk. "Stunfisk, today you'll become my finest catch, go!" Cilan swung his rod around then aimed his lure for the Stunfisk's mouth.

"Stunfisk!" Stunfisk jumped into the air, opened its mouth and shot out a large ball of mud

"Ash, cover me!" Cilan screamed.

"Right," Ash responded and made his command, "Oshawott, stop Mud Bomb with Water Gun!"

Oshawott leaped into the air and yelled, "Ooooshaaaawooooott!" releasing the Water-type move and easily canceling out Mud Bomb by blasting into the water.

Taking advantage of Stunfisk's open mouth, Cilan's lure caught Stunfisk nicely, much to Cilan's pleasure, "Yes, and now for the main event!" Cilan then pulled Stunfisk towards him with the rod, while Palpitoad watched with anger, causing it to use Mud Shot.

"Oshawott, stop the Mud Shot with Water Gun!" Ash extended his arm to the left.

"Oshawooott!"Oshawott unleashed another Water Gun while still in midair, successfully stopping Mud Shot by cleaning it away with Water Gun.

"Palpitoad," Palpitoad grinded its teeth and jumped into the air, unleashing Supersonic by opening its mouth wide and unleashing several rings aimed at Oshawott.

"Oshawott, get out of the way!" Ash instructed, but it was too late, Supersonic got Oshawott trapped and successfully confused him.

"Ash, Oshawott is confused; you're gonna have to try your hardest to snap it out!" Cilan told Ash as he gritted his teeth, the connoisseur was clearly struggling to pull Stunfisk as the fish Pokémon kept resisting Cilan's force.

Ash listened to Cilan and then grinded his teeth in frustration when he saw Oshawott's swirl eyes. He looked at Palpitoad and saw it use Mud Shot once again, _that Palpitoad is strong, it's amazing, I think I'm going to catch it, but first, _Ash thoughts shifted back to Oshawott from Palpitoad and yelled, "Oshawott, snap out of it and use Water Gun!"

Oshawott continued to walk around aimlessly and shot Water Gun everywhere. The otter Pokémon failed to react and Mud Shot hit its marking, sending Oshawott flying and hitting the ground violently.

"Palpiiitooooaaaad!" Palpitoad swung its tongue again several times and unleashed multiple Mud Shot."

_Yeah definitely strong, _Ash admired Palpitoad's strength and spoke, "Oshawott, snap out of it!"

It was to no avail though, Oshawott continued in its confused state and suffered yet another devastating hit that ending in it crashing against the hard earth. Oshawott slowly got up and stared blankly at Palpitoad as the frog-like Pokémon prepared for the finishing blow.

_No, if we don't beat Palpitoad, we won't be able to get the Remeyo weed or even catch it, _Ash gritted his teeth and yelled one final time, "Oshawott, snap out of it, we need you!"

Palpitoad smirked, then opened its mouth wide and unleashed a powerful Hydro Pump. "You get back here; I won't let you get awaaaaay!" Cilan pulled with all his might and at last, Stunfisk flew out of the water and into the air. "Perfect!" Cilan cheered and began to swing his rod around with Stunfisk holding on.

"Stun stun stun," Stunfisk became dizzy with every swing of Cilan's rod.

"You're almost mine, Stunfisk; I'm going to catch you as a memory of this great catch!" Cilan swung Stunfisk around even faster.

"Oshawott!" Ash yelled when Hydro Pump was near.

Ash's cry then ran through Oshawott's mind and echoed through his brain. That's when Oshawott snapped out of its confusion and saw the incoming Hydro Pump. The otter Pokémon glared at it and then pulled its head back, "Ooooooooshaaaaaaawoooooooott!" Oshawott pulled its head forward and released a Hydro Pump as well.

Ash's face lightened with relief when it saw Oshawott back to normal and spoke, "Give that Hydro Pump everything you have!" Ash extended his arm to the left.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott fomented the power of Hydro Pump even more and the two super attacks clashed.

They were at a standstill and the water from the Hydro Pumps splashed everywhere, the fierce fighting between the two powerful Water-type Pokémon raged on with great force until Oshawott remembered the responsibility it had in its hands.

Images of a poisoned Pikachu, Blaziken, Snivy, Tepig, Tranquil, Axew, Pansage, and the others flashed through the otter's head. Images of a worried May and Victini rushed through the Water-type's mind and that's when the otter knew he couldn't let his friends down. Oshawott took a look at his trainer's confident expression and unleashed an all-out Hydro Pump.

"Ooooshaaaawooooott!" Oshawott cried out and its Hydro Pump instantly overwhelmed Palpitoad.

"Pal…pitoad!" Palpitoad's eyes widened when it saw the Hydro Pump coming its way and became powerless. The powerful pressurized water sent Palpitoad flying into the air with swirl eyes.

"This is it," Ash reached for a Pokéball as Palpitoad flew into the air.

Ash took a look at Oshawott and smiled at it, Oshawott nodded confidently in return. The raven-haired teen turned his hat back like he done when he was younger and yelled, "Pokéball go!"

"This is the grand slam!" Cilan shouted and after one last swing, slammed Stunfisk against the ground.

"Stuuuunfiiiisk," Stunfisk moaned with swirl eyes once it hit the ground harshly.

"And now for the true catch, Pokéball go!" Cilan elegantly threw his Pokéball. When the Pokéball hit Stunfisk, it turned it into red energy and trapped it inside.

As Palpitoad began to drop, the Pokéball hit the frog and trapped it inside. The Pokéball then landed in front of Ash and shook simultaneously with Cilan's. The Pokéballs shook violently while the two males and Oshawott began to sweat from frustration, but after a few more seconds, the wobbling halted and the sound of the Pokéballs locking echoed across the lake.

Cilan and Ash's eyes shined with joy and the two ran over to lift their Pokéballs. "Yes, I caught," Ash and Cilan said at the same time.

"A Stunfisk!" Cilan cheered.

"A Palpitoad!" Ash cheered as well.

"Oshawott osha," Oshawott smiled happily.

Ash looked at his Pokéball with joy and saw the red color of the Pokéball's button. "Since you've already caught six Pokémon you'll have to switch if you want to use Palpitoad," Cilan informed Ash while putting away his newly caught Stunfisk.

"Right, no time for that right now though. With Stunfisk and Palpitoad out of the way, now we can get that Remeyo weed and heal the Pokémon," Ash smiled at the lake, happy about the thought of his friends fully recovering.

"Get back quick, the Pokémon might not hold on for much longer," Cilan said with a concerned tone.

"You got it," Ash smiled and looked at Oshawott. They both nodded and winked at each other, with that done they jumped back into the water, in search of the Remeyo weed.

* * *

"Excadrill, use Fury Swipes!" Iris pointed at Emolga.

Excadrill paid no attention to Iris and moved toward Emolga with Metal Claw. Emolga stood firm and yelled, "Eeeeeeeemooooooo!" releasing a violent Discharge.

When Discharge hit Excadrill, it had no effect and the Subterre Pokémon kept charging. "Emolga!" Emolga's eyes widened and she quickly flew up.

"Excadrill!" Excadrill leaped after her and before she could get too high, Excadrill bashed her against a tree.

"Eeeeemoooo!" Emolga cried out from the impact and dropped to the ground.

"Well, you may not pay attention to me, but at least you have things under control," Iris sighed and just watched Excadrill battle on its own.

Emolga groaned as it got back up and glared at Excadrill. "Emolga!" Emolga jetted into the air and winked at Excadrill, releasing little pink hearts made of energy.

"It's Attract! Excadrill, you have to dodge that fast!" Iris exclaimed.

Excadrill smirked and went underground by shoving its claws into the ground. By the time Attract reached Excadrill's position, he was already underground. "Emo," Emolga gritted its teeth and relied on its hearing to spot Excadrill.

"Emo," Emolga hovered above the trees and listened intently, it could hear Excadrill digging past her position and that's when she heard Excadrill burst out of the ground.

The Flying Squirrel Pokémon smirked and turned around to see Excadrill shooting up to her height from behind, but the Electric-type quickly charged up a Hidden Power and before Excadrill could get close enough, the Flying-type unleashed the powerful attack.

A white sphere shot out from in front of Emolga's body and hit Excadrill head on. Excadrill tried to counter with Metal Claw, but Hidden power's superior power overwhelmed Excadrill and blasted the Ground-type back to the ground, causing dust to rise up.

"Excadrill!" Iris shouted.

"Excadriiiiill!" Excadrill shouted as it spread away the dust and revealed itself.

"Excadrill, you have to use a different strategy rather than just go for the offensive. Let Emolga come to you," Iris told Excadrill, but the mole-like Pokémon paid no attention to her and went underground again.

Iris bit her lip in annoyance just watched whatever Excadrill prepared to pull off. Emolga chuckled and repeated the same process as, by hearing, but this time she had another trick in mind. Suddenly, Excadrill popped up from her left side, but Emolga winked down at the ground as Excadrill came her way. Hearts aimed toward Excadrill, Iris, knowing that if Attract hit, it'd be over, made a command, "Excadrill, dodge it!"

Excadrill smirked and shot back into the earth like a missile and successfully avoided the Attract. "Emo?!" Emolga's eyes widened with surprise and Iris formed a large smile.

All of a sudden, Excadrill popped up again, this time from her right side and jumped up much faster. Emolga prepared to use Hidden Power this time and charged up the attack, but before she could, Excadrill threw dirt into her eyes and blinded her. "Eeeeeemooooo," Emolga tried to get the dirt out of her eyes, but it was too late.

"Eeeeexcaaaadriiiiiiiill!" Excadrill roared and slammed Emolga toward the ground using Metal Claw. Emolga crashed down toward the floor, but Excadrill wasn't finish, it darted after her, but this time Excadrill used Fury Swipes and with its glowing claws, the Subterre Pokémon scratched Emolga angrily.

"Emolga!" Emolga cried out as Excadrill scratched repeatedly, it delivered with another Metal Claw and hit Emolga hard enough to be hit the floor with a mark of her body.

"Emo," Emolga moaned as it lied on the ground unconscious.

"Excadrill," Excadrill smirked and then automatically curled up when it saw Emolga.

"Excadrill, return," Iris smiled at it when it was back in its ball, "You may not have listened to any of my orders, but I'm still proud of you for the battle you pulled off."

Iris then put Excadrill away and looked at the Emolga, "You know, that Emolga was pretty strong and a good battler for that matter. I think I should catch it."

The purple-haired girl reached for a Pokéball and threw it, "Pokéball go!" Iris's Pokéball hit Emolga and captured the Flying Squirrel Pokémon inside. For a few moments, the ball would shake aggressively and Iris would grind her teeth, _c'mon after all that, I should at least deserve to catch it, _Iris thought.

A few more seconds passed and suddenly, the Pokéball's wobbling stopped with the sound of it locking followed. Iris's eyes shined with joy and the girl ran up to the ball and held it up high, "Yes, I caught an Emolga!" She lowered the Pokéball and smiled at it, "Welcome to the team Emolga, I hope you don't cause us too much trouble," Iris giggled.

* * *

"They aren't back yet, where could they be?" May became concerned, the purple spot on the Pokémon's faces had grown thicker and darker, and the brunette had gotten increasingly worried.

"Vi victini," Victini clasped its hands together and showed great concern for his fellow Pokémon.

May held Victini close and fought back their worries as best as she could, "They'll be here soon, I know they will, they won't let us done," the sapphire-eyed girl murmured.

"May!" the brunette heard a few voices call her and the girl's eyes shined with joy. She lifted her head and turned around to see Ash and May returning from the lake and Iris from the forest.

"Oshawott osha," Oshawott ran next to Ash cheerfully.

"Ash, Iris, Cilan, Oshawott!" May cheered and smiled joyfully.

"Victini tini!" Victini cheered when it saw Ash.

The trio caught up to May and they all grinned happily. "Looks like we all made it back A-ok," Cilan smiled happily.

"Did we bring the Remeyo weed back in time?" Ash handed May the herb.

"Right on time," May received the Remeyo weed, her eyes glistening when she took them from Ash.

"I also retrieved your stuff from Emolga, Cilan," Iris smiled and gave Cilan back his backpack and anything else she could get.

"Where are my-" Cilan was about to ask, but Iris interrupted.

"Don't ask," Iris sighed, feeling sorry for the green-haired teen.

"Victini and I were worried about all you, why did you take so long?" May asked.

"The Pokémon we battled are proved tougher than we could've imagined, but in the end we got through and even captured them," Ash showed his Pokéball and Cilan's.

"The same happened to me, I caught Emolga," Iris showed May her Pokéball and the trio congratulated each other for their catches.

May felt a little left out that all her friends caught a new Pokémon and were celebrating, in the end though, they only thing she cared about was they all returned alright and the Pokémon would be alright. The girl looked at her boyfriend and three friends with Victini, smiling and congratulating them for a job well done.

* * *

**Later…**

"There we go," Iris made Axew sip the juice from the Remeyo weed while the others also made the other Pokémon drink the juice from the herb.

After a few minutes, the purple spot from their faces vanished and they all got up with the same energy they usually carried. "Pikachu!" Pikachu leaped into Ash's arms.

"Great to see you healthy buddy," Ash smiled and hugged his small friend.

"Pansage pan," Pansage smiled at Cilan.

"Glad to see you up Pansage," Cilan responded happily.

"Axew ew," Axew hugged Iris.

"Hey there," Iris giggled, returning Axew's embrace.

"Blaziken, blaz," Blaziken smiled joyfully when it saw May.

"Hey Blaziken, glad you're doing alright again," May gave the Pokémon a soft smile.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott exclaimed cheerfully when it saw all the Pokémon recovering.

"Vi victini," Victini appeared next to Oshawott, alarming Oshawott a bit, but then calmed down while Victini smiled at it.

"Osh," Oshawott grinned at Victini and the two watched their friends happily hug each other.

"Looks like Victini is opening up to another friend," Ash noticed with Pikachu.

"How sweet," Iris smiled at the pair.

"Looks like Victini feels like it can trust Oshawott after what happened," Cilan stated.

"Good for you Victini," May scratched the back of Victini's ear while Blaziken watched over the two with a calm, but grinning face.

"You know, I think all of us should thank May and Victini for letting things come out ok," Ash said, surprising the girl with "Huh", but the boy merely smiled.

"But Ash, it was you, Iris, Cilan, and Oshawott who solved this whole problem," May didn't understand why she deserved the credit.

"No May," Iris told her.

"That doesn't compare to what you did," Cilan grinned at the brunette.

"All we did was return with stuff, you were the one who stuck here and took care of all the sick Pokémon with Victini to the best of your ability. If you hadn't stayed, who knows what might've happened, May it's thanks to you and Victini that we all pulled through, you took such good care of the Pokémon. We were all afraid of letting you down because we knew you had the hardest task, we couldn't let you down, you were the one trying your hardest by taking care of so many Pokémon so you deserve the praise," Ash praised his beloved.

May and Victini remained surprise at first, but then the Pokémon began to praise the pair as well. They neared the duo and cheered happily for them, causing the two to blush from embarrassment. Ash focused on May's beautiful smile as the Pokémon dared to get on top of her as a way of thanking her, but Ash knew May deserved the praise, she always had the gentlest, most caring and sweetest heart, _and it's why I love her, _the boy thought in his mind, causing him to grin.

**Hope you enjoyed it. Three of the four caught new Pokémon in a single chapter, this chapter is pretty critical since it involves the gang catching major members of their Pokémon teams. As you may have noticed, this chapter stays truer to the anime than the other recent chapters since it follows the same plot basically except Oshawott's Aqua Jet problem. Oh and also, my apologies for any grammar errors like usual, remember to REVIEW PM ETC, also if it isn't too much to ask, could anyone please point out any moment in my chapters where there's a GRAMMAR ERROR? PLEASE THANKS! Next chapter I'm thinking of making May catch her own Pokémon to not make her feel so lonely lol. Once again, hope you liked it. Btw, hoped you enjoyed the first part, a little revelation there, anyway, I'll see on the next update!**


	29. The Shadows of Dreams

Chapter 29: Come and Get It

_What am I doing, I can't stop, what's going? _Ash found himself sitting on a bed with Misty in front of him. He was leaning closer to the orange-haired teen's lips and every attempt Ash did to pull was futile.

He could feel his hands getting placed on Misty's waist, _I can't control it, what's happening to my body, _the boy thought in his mind as he tried to fight back, but it was useless. Ash had a look of uncertainty on, but even if he was uncomfortable doing this, his body just kept going closer, Misty closed her eyes and leaned closer as well.

_Stop! _Ash yelled, but it was pointless, Ash and Misty locked lips and Ash moved his hand up her waist and placed it on her left cheek. He couldn't stop, he couldn't pull away, Misty's lips stuck to his like glue, _why am I doing this, why can't I pull away, when May finds out…_Ash gritted his teeth in his mind.

All of a sudden, the sound of something metallic dropping was heard and Ash finally pulled away. The boy turned around to see what it was and his face became covered in grief, in front of him was May; tears streaming down her cheek, her legs were trembling.

"May!" Ash called out to her.

May shut her eyes and ran away crying, her weeping echoing through the house. Ash turned to Misty and frowned; the gym leader sighed and lowered her head. Ash darted off after May without a word, running as fast as he could pull off. He saw May rushing out of the house and Ash followed closely behind, when he left the house he looked around and saw May up on a hill, letting the heavy rain drop on her with all its May.

_How'd she get there so fast? _Ash thought, but quickly ran after her and rushed to the hill, using all his force to run up the grassy lump. The ground was muddy and Ash almost slipped, but managed to keep his balance. The cold rain showered over Ash, but like May, the boy paid no mind to it and finally caught up to the brunette and the top.

"May…" Ash slowly walked over to her with a sad tone. Her back was facing him, when he called out her name, she didn't even move an inch. Ash walked a bit closer and placed his hand on May's shoulder, "May?" the boy said once again.

May began to shake and Ash could hear her weeping once again, "I…thought…you….lo-lo-loved me…everything…we sha-shared…and it ends…like this."

"May, it wasn't my intention. I tried to stop; I don't know what came over me. I lost control, that wasn't me who kissed Misty, I love you May and I would never do anything to hurt you," Ash explained to the girl with a guilty tone.

May's shaking and crying came to a halt when Ash finished his explanation. When she spoke, her tone became more sinister, "Love? You love me? Ash, you can't be stupider than you are right now. After all the experience you've gained about love and romantic feelings during the week I've been here, all you've done is understand the opposite of love. You really are dense; love isn't when you going around kissing someone else then claim you love another. You'll never understand what love is Ash; you'll never get it, now go away!" May turned around with a furious gaze and pushed Ash away from her.

The push caught Ash off guard and the boy felt himself lose balance, he slipped on the wet grass and then fall backwards, down the hill. His hat flew off and Ash rolled down the hill violently, every impact between his bones and the hill made the boy grind his teeth. He could feel himself breaking into pieces. When he reached the base of the hill, Ash's body lied on the wet grass while rain continued to poor down on him. The boy grinded his teeth as he gently got up. His bones ached and he saw various injuries on his arms. The red blood from his elbows and wrists dropped on the grass, his jeans and shirt got ripped, exposing his shoulders and bloody knees.

Ash clenched his fists, as he slowly lifted himself up. He touched his face and then looked at his fingers, he was bleeding near his temples, he saw patches of green form on his arms and legs, bruises were quickly forming. The boy fought back tears, trying the endure the god awful pain he felt, at one point he could've sworn he heard a bone in his leg snap while he got up.

He raised his head and looked up at the top of the hill, preparing to glare at May and yell the truth out to her once again, but when he looked up at the hill, his eyes widened with shock. "You!" Ash shouted with anger, grinding his teeth.

May was no longer on the top of the hill; another figure had replaced her, a far too familiar figure at this point. Omega smirked at him and said, "This is only the beginning of your path to nothingness."

"What do you want? What are you doing here?" Ash glared at Omega, barely able to stand up.

"Ash Ketchum, you are destined to lose everything you have and you'll be sent to oblivion by my hand," Omega reached for Master Ball.

Ash stood still, he kept glaring at Omega and reached for a Pokéball as well, but much to his dismay, he found nothing on his belt. Omega's silver hair began to levitate and his amber eyes turned pitch black, followed by a frightful black aura enveloping the man's body. Suddenly, a black hole opened underneath Ash and ghostly dark hands reached for Ash's legs from the hole.

"What the," Ash tried to pull his legs away, but the hands were too strong and kept slowly pulling Ash into the hole.

"I'm going to send you and everything you've ever loved to obliteration," Omega's voice became a demonic one and he threw the Master Ball into the air.

From it came out a gigantic creature, it was shadowy and the most prominent feature was its ruby-glowing eyes. The only other thing Ash was able to identify from the creature was its lengthy wings that had very spiky ends. Whatever the shadow Pokémon was, it screeched loudly as it flew right at Ash.

Ash's eyes widened, he tried to move away but the hands still held onto his legs, leaving him unable to move. The next thing Ash saw was the monster opening its jaw like a gruesome beast and everything became dark.

* * *

"Gah!" Ash sat up, still in his sleeping bag. He was gasping and sweating, his eyes were wide from fear.

"Ash?" Ash heard May's voice and lifted his head. In front of him, he saw Iris, Cilan, May, and the other Pokémon eating breakfast, including Pikachu and Victini.

"May, Iris, Cilan…" Ash let out a sigh of relief.

The Pokémon and the other 3 trainers gave Ash puzzled faces. "Ash, is something wrong?" May tilted her head in confusion.

"No, I'm fine, just a dream," Ash grinned softly.

"It's about time you woke up," Iris told the auburn-eyed boy.

"At least you're just in time for breakfast," Cilan grinned.

Ash put on a weak smile and responded, "Thanks Cilan."

"Ash, come here and eat breakfast," May made space for Ash between her and Iris.

"And here's a towel to wipe away that sweat," Iris handed Ash a towel that just happened to be on the table. The purple-haired girl threw it at Ash and the boy caught it.

"Thanks you two," Ash wiped away the sweat around his neck and face. The boy sat down next to May and Iris, waiting for his breakfast.

"Morning sunshine," May teased Ash and pecked him on the cheek.

"Morning May," Ash smiled sheepishly and held her a hand for a second as sign of affection.

"Pikapi," Pikachu greeted Ash by getting on his shoulder.

"Tini," Victini hovered over to Ash and sat on his shoulder.

"Hey Pikachu and Victini," Ash smiled at the two and scratched the two Pokémon under the chin.

"Here you go," Cilan gave Ash a bowl of fruit with yogurt.

"Thanks Cilan," Ash thanked Cilan and began to eat the bowl of sliced fruit.

As Ash began eating, the dream he had earlier slowly flashed back into his mind, he checked his arms just to see if had actually gotten any injuries. He found nothing; the boy then touched his temple and only felt his skin along with the long raven hair near his temples. _That dream happened in real life already, it was when I kissed Misty just a few days before I got with May, _Ash recalled in his mind, remembering the event that now felt ages ago.

_Everything that happened seemed pretty accurate up until catching up with May at the hill, Drew was there with her, I remember that, but in the dream she wasn't. Then everything changed entirely when May pushed me off the hill and Omega appeared. What did Omega have to do with anything in that dream and what was that Pokémon that he used? I could've sworn I've seen it before; _the black-haired teen recounted his nightmare.

"You are destined to lose everything you have," Ash mumbled Omega's words.

"Ash!" Iris's voice pierced through the boy's ear and snapped him out of his train of thought.

Ash's eyes widened with alarm and he frowned at Iris, "Why did you yell?"

"Because you wouldn't hear me when I said to please pass me a napkin, so you forced me to yell," Iris frowned at the boy.

"Oh…sorry," Ash replied.

"Here you go Iris," May handed a napkin to Iris.

Ash quickly reverted back to his earlier state and began to think of the dream again. The more he thought of it, the more he became disturbed, the event he recounted in his mind was very twisted compared to the one that occurred in real life. "Why did I dream of that of all things?" Ash murmured.

"Pi?" Pikachu heard his friend and asked if something was wrong.

"No, everything's fine pal, I'm just thinking," Ash answered Pikachu and the mouse let it go.

"So what's the plan for today?" May inquired.

"Well, we're a day away from the town where your contest is being held at. If we walk till nightfall, we'll it there by morning and you'll be able to compete for sure," Cilan informed May.

"Perfect, I can't wait; I'm going to make my big comeback!" May cheered.

Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Victini admired May's excitement with a smile, but it was Ash's daydream stare that alerted May. The brunette noticed that Ash had finished his breakfast already and just kept staring down blankly, as if he were thinking about something.

The sapphire-eyed girl frowned, but ignored Ash and continued to talk with Iris and Cilan.

* * *

**Later that morning…**

While Iris and Cilan were finishing packing, May returned from the woods after changing to her white sleeveless jacket and black biker shorts. The girl walked by the campsite, smiling when she saw Pikachu, Axew and Victini playing after all the other Pokémon had been returned. Over the course of their time together, Victini had finally opened up to Axew and the rest of the Pokémon, after the incident with Emolga, Palpitoad, and Stunfisk, the Fire-type wasn't so shy anymore, nevertheless, it still had to work a bit more on its relationship with Iris and Cilan.

The brunette giggled as she walked past the Pokémon trio and frowned when she saw the next thing that caught her attention. She saw Ash leaned against a tree, sitting down with the brim of his hat covering his eyes. May walked over to him and crossed her arms, "Ash, what's up with you this morning. You've been in space since you woke up."

Ash looked up at May and grinned shamefacedly, "Sorry if I've been worrying you that much," the boy answered.

"Is it about that dream you had?" May sat down next to him with a curious look.

"I don't really feel comfortable talking about it," Ash told the brunette with an uneasy attitude.

May frowned at him and spoke, "I'm your girlfriend, and I have the right to know when something is wrong with you and the reason why. You're not only one who has the job of comforting Ash, I want you to know that I'm always here to do the same for you, whenever you're down I'm here for you. You can tell me anything and I'll comfort because I love you."

May's words touched Ash's heart and the boy sighed, finding himself reluctantly telling her what was wrong with him, "The dream I had while I was asleep was more like a flashback of the past. I dreamt that I was kissing Misty and you were there, you saw us, the memories of your broken heart came back to me. I was reliving that whole thing all over again and it felt just as bad as the first, kissing Misty and seeing you like that troubled me more than you can imagine."

The brunette raised her eyebrow, slightly annoyed with the details Ash was given him, although she had forgiven him and Misty, the pain from that event still bothered her from time to time whenever she thought about it. May brushed away the uncomfortable feeling as Ash spoke about the nightmare he relived, but then she interrupted him.

"I dashed after you, remembering how terri-," Ash got cut off.

"Ash," May reached for Ash's hand and held it while smiling. "Don't get so down just because you had a nightmare like that. That was in the past, and we're here together now, in love. The reason why you kissed Misty wasn't because you loved her or had feelings for her, I understand that it was only out of frustration. Love was still something new to you then, you became lost in all those complicated emotions and you lost control of your feelings, you didn't know what to do. You kissed Misty because you were so lost in all those confusing parts of love, but you overcame them and although you're still dense, silly, you've matured and learned a lot. It's strange because you're a more mature Ash who knows more about stuff including love, yet you're still the same Ash that I love and I think that's what is most important, that we love each other." The girl then leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, placing her head right on his chest.

Ash smiled and hugged May, "I love you, May." The boy said and then kissed her head, including her hair.

"Are you feeling better now?" May questioned, still cuddling him and grinning happily.

The raven-haired let out a deep breath and spoke sternly, "There was another part in that dream completely different from everything else. It bugs me as much as the rest of the dream."

"What's that?" May became concerned, but still held onto him.

"At one point in the dream, you transformed into Omega. He began to torment me, saying things like taking away everything that I care about and how he'd put an end to me, I felt powerless in that dream to stop him. Then he released a Pokémon I recognized, but sure exactly what Pokémon. The Pokémon attacked me and that's when I woke up," the auburn-eyed teen explained.

May pressed up against him and smiled, "It was just a dream. You shouldn't let it or Omega get to your head like this, if Omega ever tries to hurt you, I'll be there to stop him. I'll protect you like you've always protected me."

The reassuring words coming from May's mouth finally relieved Ash and he felt like he could finally let the nightmare go. As long as the pair was together, nothing could ever overpower them, not even Omega. He hugged her tight and kissed her hair once again.

Ash's girlfriend then backed away from a bit and got out two Oran berries from one of the pockets from her thin white jacket. "Here, I found two Oran berries hanging from a tree while I was changing. I thought we could eat them together, but don't tell the others," the coordinator winked.

Ash chuckled and received an Oran berry from May, "Thank you May."

The two beamed at each other and prepared to take a bite. Suddenly though, a two kunai shot in front of Ash and May, making a whooshing sound in the process, the kunai stabbing through the Oran berries and piercing into the dirt with the Oran berries still through the blades.

Ash and May's eyes widened and their hairs stood up with fear when they realized what just happened. Iris and Cilan noticed thanks to the sound of whoosh. The four saw the shiny, small weapons lunged into the ground, causing Iris to hold onto Cilan's arm while May held onto Ash, but even the boys were in fear since their eyes got wide with fear and their teeth gritted when they saw the kunai.

Victini and Axew also wasted no time in hiding behind Pikachu, while the mouse frantically looked around for the attacker.

"What brings you to the forest here?" a voice asked menacingly.

"Who, who said that?" Ash looked around with a nervous expression.

One of the trees in front of Ash then began to rustle violently, causing the gang to step back in fear. From the tree dropped a bizarre-dressed man. He wore a blue coat with some traces of black; he had blue gloves on, black pants along with black shoes, a black-orange shoulder pad on his left shoulder and another guard from his forearm to the tip of his fingers, the man almost resembled some sort of character from superhero stories. The stranger also had tan skin, whitish-blond hair and amber eyes.

"I asked what you are doing here?" the man asked angrily while holding out a Kunai.

The Kunai provoked Ash, May and the others to walk farther away, with chills crawling down their spines at the sight of the sharp blade of the Kunai. Cilan shook his hands in an attempt to ease the man and said, "We're not looking for any trouble, we were just passing by, so there's no need to throw Kunai at anyone," the gym leader said with a frightened tone while sweating a bit.

The man lowered his Kunai and took a good look at the still scared teens. The man chuckled and out of nowhere, threw the Kunai right at them. The gang's eyes widened with fear, their hairs stood up, and they felt their heartbeats accelerate. Due to the fear, they shut their eyes and waited for the Kunai to strike until they heard a thud; they slowly opened their eyes and found each other all in one piece. Ash looked to his right and saw the Kunai stuck on a tree trunk.

The teens and Pokémon let out a sigh of relief while the stranger smirked, "Your story seems credible. Besides, you kids don't look like you'd provoke any trouble; I apologize for alerting you like that."

The look in the eyes of the gang alleviated when they heard the stranger, all of a sudden, they heard flapping and saw a Honchkrow land on the man's shoulders. "Honchkrow," the bird squawked.

"Good work Honchkrow," the stranger grinned at his partner.

The light-haired man turned back to the gang and smiled, "Let me apologize one more time, I can't feel guilty enough startling you like that."

May and Iris stopped holding onto Ash and Cilan while Axew stopped hiding behind Pikachu, Victini was the only who still seemed a bit distrustful after the show the stranger put on. "No worries, at all, but why did you startle us like?" Ash asked with a rather annoyed look, but forgave the man.

Just when the stranger was about to answer Ash, he spotted Victini peeking from behind Pikachu, but kept his cool, _is that Victini? _The man wondered, then turned back to Ash and said, "Why don't I explain at my cabin, by the way, my name is Wes."

"Hi, I'm Ash," Ash introduced himself with a grin.

"Hi there, I'm May," May finally managed to speak to the man.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Iris," Iris greeted the stranger.

"And I'm Cilan, it's a pleasure," Cilan saluted Wes.

"The pleasure is all mine," Wes smiled at all of them.

* * *

"My Pokémon and I reside on this route because we take it as our responsibility to protect the local Pokémon. Honchkrow is the scout around these parts, he notifies me if there's any trouble brewing, especially if someone is attempting to take some Pokémon around here. That's why I was forced to assault you like that, you never know who's good or bad these days, especially with crime running rampant these days, disturbing the balance of the world and Pokémon," Wes explained to the gang on the table, they all sat down in the circular table and listened intently to Wes.

The gang nodded in agreement when Wes mentioned criminals running all over, thinking of Team Plasma and Team Rocket when the man spoke of crooks. "We understand why you'd attack us like that, it's a very noble responsibility," May said to the man.

"Yeah, who would've thought all you were doing was protecting Pokémon from any cruel people who come around, that's so cool," Ash complimented the man.

"Very dignifying," Cilan nodded with admiration.

"That's nice from your part," Iris told the man.

"Pika," Pikachu smiled at Wes.

"Ax axew," Axew did the same as Pikachu.

Victini, while invisible smiled because of Wes's words, there were other people out in the world besides Iris, Cilan, "mama", "papa", and Roxas who would give their lives to protect its brethren.

"Yeah, I guess it's my way of contributing to Pokémon after everything they've done for me," Wes told them. They all shook their heads in agreement, but then Wes said something else, "Well, now it's my turn to ask, when will you stop trying to hide that Victini from me?"

The gang became alarmed when Wes revealed that he was aware of Victini and weren't sure how to respond, "I spotted it earlier when we met in the forest. That Victini still needs some practicing on blending in if it doesn't want to be found."

All of them sighed, including Victini, but Wes grinned, "Don't worry, I won't hurt it or steal it, after all, that would be contradictory to what I do now would it?"

"I guess," Ash remained uncertain along with May, however, in the end, they nodded with Iris and Cilan.

"Victini, you can stop hiding now, Wes, would like to meet you and I promise I won't let him hurt you if he does anything," May told the Victory Pokémon.

Wes raised an eyebrow when he heard May, not sure if they still actually trusted him or not since May said she wouldn't let him hurt Victini. "Vi," Victini revealed itself to the man with a timid look and quickly dashed behind May, "Tini," the little Pokémon took a peek at Wes.

"It's a shy one, how on earth did you kids end up with such a legendary Pokémon?" Wes asked with a confused tone.

"May and I were protecting it from a gang of crooks back on Liberty Garden a couple of days ago," Ash explained to Wes.

Wes nodded and replied, "Would that incident happen to be the same one is currently reported on television?" The man asked and focused his gaze on the T.V behind him.

"Yeah, when they attacked Castelia City, they were after Victini, but we stopped them and this little guy decided to come along with us," May went into further detail while placing her hand behind her head and scratching Victini's head.

"Yes, the two conflictive Team Plasmas and Team Rocket, along with some other enigmatic crime syndicate. I'm aware of their activities, I've been encountering those thugs for months now and I've driven them away countless times," Wes informed them.

The gang became surprised when Wes said that, realizing that the reputation of these criminal organizations has gained a large notoriety. "It's nice to see a Victini once again after so many years, I hadn't seen one since I traveled to become a Pokémon Master," Wes mentioned.

Everyone immediately became even more surprised when Wes said he traveled to become a Pokémon Master. Ash especially became amazed and his eyes widened, "A Pokémon Master? No way, I wouldn't have expected you to be a Pokémon Master."

Wes chuckled and spoke, "Do you happen to be aiming to become one yourself?"

"Absolutely, I've traveled nonstop and fought many battles to reach that goal, how did you become one?" Ash asked with great curiosity, a curiosity that almost made him seem like a little kid, much to the annoyance of the others.

"Ash, before you aim to be a Pokémon Master, you must realized that the definition for that term varies, you see I never learned what 'Pokémon Master' was until I won my first and last Pokémon League competition," Wes stated.

"What do you mean?" Ash tilted his head in confusion. May and the others also became puzzled by what Wes meant.

"You see, after winning a league championship and successfully defeating the Elite Four and Champion of that region, after traveling and seeing so much, I realized what I wanted to do with my life. For the rest of my life after traveling, I settled down and took it up as my duty to protect Pokémon. After working so hard and ultimately dedicating my complete life to Pokémon, I realized I was a Pokémon Master. A Pokémon Master because I was doing what I loved even though I was no longer out battling. While working hard alongside my Pokémon with every sweat from every battle, I finally aimed for something good and dedicated in life, assuring the protection of Pokémon. So in other words, by working so hard with my Pokémon, doing what I love, and doing something good, I feel like I have achieved the goal of becoming a Pokémon Master," Wes explained to Ash what his meaning for the term "Pokémon Master" was, based on his life experiences.

Ash was left speechless, he didn't know what to say, and Wes's words only left him thinking very heavily about what he was currently doing to become a "Pokémon Master". His thoughts got halted by something else Wes said though, "Of course, I didn't realize anything of this, about working with Pokémon and caring for them, until I abandoned a criminal organization I once belonged to."

Once again, Wes surprised the gang by mentioning that he was part of criminal group. "What criminal group?" Iris inquired.

Wes smirked and continued to talk, "The surprise expressions on the seven of you is humoring, but if you really want to know. I was part of criminal group that is long gone, headquartered once in the faraway Orre region. After years of service though, I became disgusted with the cruelty they inflicted upon Pokémon and took it upon myself to eradicate them. It was a long journey, but in the end, that gang of thugs was gone, and after that I set out on my journey to find a purpose. Seeing my former comrades mistreat Pokémon made me realize I wanted to do the opposite, with dark forces like that in the world, good forces have to exist as well, and I decided to raise and care for my Pokémon while making them strong at the same time. It was around the time I began to travel around the world that I wanted to become a Pokémon Master and after a few years of hard training, I became a Pokémon Champion. During my travels though, I came across more people like the organization I worked for and became even more aware of how bad Pokémon need good people to care for them rather than bad people who intend to abuse them for power."

The teens and Pokémon were all mesmerized by the story Wes told, amusing the man in the process as he continued to tell them his story, "This made me become stronger and after becoming champ, like I said earlier, I finally realized my true goal and what I wanted to do. Become a protector for Pokémon. Around the time after winning the Pokémon League, I came to Unova and settled here because it was known to everyone that his region had been plagued by crime several years around that time. It decreased dramatically after the years I decided to live here, thanks to people with the same desire as me, to do good, especially for Pokémon. However, it seems to be increasing once again with the rise of groups like Team Plasma." Wes frowned when he thought of criminals like Team Plasma.

Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan nodded at Wes. "Wes, what you're doing has to be one of the noblest things I've ever heard," May told the light-haired man.

"You're an inspiration to people, including me, what you're doing is so dignified," Ash made a fist and smiled at Wes, admiring the hero.

"You almost left me speechless, I've met very few people with the mentality you have," Iris said to Wes.

"A very heroic and gracious life indeed, with a delightful taste of adventure," Cilan praised the veteran trainer and hermit.

Pikachu and Axew also praised Wes, smiling at the man for doing so much, especially good, in his life. Victini found great admiration for Wes and its eyes glistened as it looked at the hero who dedicated to his life to protecting all Pokémon. The Fire-type stopped hiding behind May's head and sat down on May's shoulder.

Wes took note of Victini's presence when it came out of hiding and understood that Victini, Pikachu, and Axew had taken a great liking him simply because of what he's done for Pokémon, but he only smiled. "Enough about me though, tell me more about the four of you, what your goals are, how far you've come so far."

Before any of them could talk though, they heard a tapping on the glass window. Wes became alarmed and turned to the window, the light-haired man saw Honchkrow flying there, squawking "Honchkrow!"

"What's going on?" Ash became baffled along with the others.

Wes frowned and only said, "Let's go find out." With that said, Wes dashed out of the house while the others followed close behind him.

"Honchkrow, what is it?" Wes asked anxiously.

"Krow, honchkrow krow," Honchkrow said to Wes while flapping its wings.

Wes frowned and grinded his teeth after Honchkrow explained the situation. "What's the matter?" May inquired.

"Team Neo Plasma is trying to take a group of large Pokémon near here," Wes spoke sternly.

Ash and the teens frowned when they heard the news, "It's best if you stay here, who knows what those plasma goons will do," Wes ordered them.

Ash stepped up and disobeyed Wes, "No Wes, we're going with you." The raven-haired teen frowned and made a fist.

"We've faced those people dozens of times already, we even saved a legendary Pokémon from them," May added and mimicked Ash's pose.

"We'll be a great help to you," Iris smiled confidently.

"You won't regret it," Cilan stated.

Wes sighed, he smirked at them and replied, "Very well, but Victini has to stay."

The teens all realized the one issue that might not allow them to go with Wes and turned to Victini, who just returned a confused gaze. "You already stopped them from taking Victini once before. I'm sure they're still after it, if you go with Victini you'll be handing it over to them," Wes explained to them.

"Now, how are we going to leave you here by yourself?" May kneeled down and gave the hovering Victini a sad look.

"Victini," Victini understood what was going on and gave May the same sad look. "Vi v," Victini hugged May and held on tight to her, as if that would keep her from going.

"I wish Victini, could come with us. He'd be a great deal of help to Wes and us, but it's better if he stays here," Ash kneeled down next to May and placed his hand on the Fire-type's head while it kept holding onto May.

"Pikapi pika pikachu," Pikachu told Ash, who still stood on his shoulder.

Ash looked at Pikachu and spoke, "Pikachu, do you really want to do that?" Ash asked Pikachu.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and grinned happily.

"What's Pikachu saying Ash?" Iris inquired.

"It says it's willing to stay here at the cabin and look after Victini," Ash told the girl with a satisfied grin.

May separated from Victini and smiled at it, Victini seemed uncertain about leaving its parents, but May nodded at it. The Victory Pokémon turned to Ash and Pikachu, Ash nodded as well while Pikachu smiled at the Psychic-type. Victini understood it was for its own safety and "mama" and "papa" were going to go protect Pokémon. In the end, Victini nodded and smiled, "Tini."

"If Pikachu is staying, then so is Blaziken," May said and threw her Pokéball into the air.

From it emerged Blaziken, the fiery fighter towered above the humans and proudly said, "Blaziken!"

May stood up and looked at her faithful partner, "Blaziken I need you to stay here with Pikachu and help it protect Victini, ok?"

"Blaze," Blaziken nodded obediently.

Victini smiled at Pikachu and Blaziken, what better Pokémon to it feel safe than Ash and May's most loyal companions. Wes crossed his arms and grinned at the little Fire-type, "Just for precaution, Honchkrow, you fly over the house and guard it."

"Honchkrow krow," Honchkrow nodded and fly into the air; it began to fly around the house in circles while the gang looked up.

"Honchkrow will keep a watchful eye and notify your Blaziken and Pikachu if anyone comes around here," Wes informed the teens.

"Sounds good to me," Cilan said.

Iris looked at Axew, who had its head sticking out her hair like usual, "Axew, why don't you stay with them too. It'll be much safer for you here, we'll be back soon."

Axew seemed uncertain at first, but then realized it'd be staying with Blaziken, Pikachu, and Victini, so it gladly accepted. "Ax axew ax," Axew bobbed its head.

Axew jumped out Iris's and stood next to Pikachu. "The same goes for you Victini, Axew, Blaziken, and Pikachu will take good care of you. We won't be gone for too long, just stay put, don't go anywhere," Ash said to Victini while still kneeling down.

"Pikachu, Axew, if Victini wants, play with it to distract ok?" Ash winked at the pair.

The small duo nodded at Ash, not planning on letting their friend down. "I'll be back for you quickly, behave ok Victini?" May spoke softly to it.

"V," Victini nodded blankly, starting to feel uncomfortable about seeing Ash and May leave. It dashed at May and Ash and rubbed its cheek against theirs, smiling happily while letting a few small tears wet their cheeks, "Tini vi, mama, papa."

Victini's comment caused Wes to raise an eyebrow; _it believes they're its parents. That tell me a lot about how these two must be with their Pokémon, _the light-haired man smirked. Cilan and Iris had already heard Victini say "papa" and "mama" to Ash and May a few times before, but they found it just as adorable as the last.

"We have to hurry, there's no time to waste," Wes realized how quickly they were running out of time and spoke very demandingly.

The teens all nodded and May and Ash took one more look at Victini, nodding at it. "Let's go quick," Cilan said and the gang ran off into the woods while Victini watched them go.

"Viiii," Victini said with a sad tone, but felt Axew, Pikachu, and Blaziken's hands on it. Victini looked at them and saw their smiles, making the Victory Pokémon smile as well, "Tini," it responded.

* * *

"This is it," Wes saw ahead and ran.

Ash and the others frowned and ran behind him. When they came into a clearing, much to their horror, they saw about a dozen Neo Plasma members gathering Pokémon of all types with a cruelty Arceus would damn.

Wes, Ash, May, Iris, Cilan saw the Water-type Pokémon being dragged with a net on the grass while the Grass-type Pokémon and other land Pokémon were being brutally beaten by Pokémon like Seviper, Zangoose, Sneasel, and Skorupi.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Wes yelled at the Plasma Grunts.

The criminals and their Pokémon stopped their activities and turned to the gang. "We have trouble," a male grunt said.

"Aldith, what do we do?" another male grunt asked to the only female grunt in the squad.

"Take them down, what does it look like?" Aldith glared at the gang.

"You're going to pay for your crimes," Ash glared back and threw a Pokéball, "Go Snivy!"

"Tepig, you're up!" May called out her Tepig.

"Stunfisk, let's go!" Cilan summoned his recently caught Pokémon.

"Emolga, help us out!" Iris released Emolga.

"Umbreon, I need your assistance!" Wes called out the Johto Pokémon.

"You know, I could've sworn our leader declared you two dead," Aldith focused her eyes on Ash and May.

"Guess they recognized us," May smirked at Ash.

"Well, maybe after their last defeat, they'll understand exactly who they are dealing with," Ash smirked back at May.

"You can get rid of all of them except for the brunette and her boyfriend, the boss will want to see them in person," Aldith crossed her arms, chuckling while standing in front of a net containing a bunch of Water-type Pokémon.

"Cilan, Iris, and I will take care of half of them, Ash, May, you can split the rest among you," Wes told them, the teens nodded and prepared to battle.

The Neo Plasma Grunts charged at the gang with their fierce Pokémon, but the teens and Wes didn't seem fazed at all by their intimidation. "May, I'll take care of three, and you go after the one in charge," Ash told the sapphire-eyed girl.

May nodded and moved away from the gang with her Tepig after dodging a Seviper's Poison Tail. Ash and the others were also forced to split when the grunt's Pokémon tried to attack them. Wes proceeded to battling against half a dozen grunts with Iris and Cilan aiding him while Ash confronted three others. May found herself facing against Aldith and two male grunts standing next to her, the trio was clearly protecting one of three nets that held the captured Pokémon.

Aldith glared at her and said, "Little girl, I suggest you surrender or you'll be dealing with us."

"I'm not intimidated, come and get it," May gave her a sly smile while Tepig smirked at them as well.

Aldith frowned and growled, "Take care of her!"

The male grunts obeyed without a word and called out a pair of Venipede. "Venipede, use Poison Sting," the male duo said at the same time.

The Venipede aimed carefully at Tepig and unleashed a volley of glowing needles at the fire pig. May smiled and spoke, "Tepig, counter that with Flamethrower."

Tepig leaped into the air and yelled, "Teeeepiiiig!" breathing out the powerful Fire-type attack.

The heat from Flamethrower easily extinguished Poison Sting and hit the pair of Venipede. Its intense flames scorched the Bug-type Pokémon, causing them to screech in pain. When Tepig stopped Flamethrower and landed on the ground, the two Venipede dropped to the ground with swirl eyes.

"Well, that was easy," May put her hand behind her head, not expecting it end so quick.

"Useless imbeciles," Aldith spat, causing the two men lower their heads.

May grinned arrogantly and pointed at Aldith, "Now Tepig, use Smog!"

"What?" Aldith took a step back while Tepig snorted out a dark, filthy gas at her and the two grunts next to her.

The gas covered up the whole area between May and the grunts. "I can't see, blast it," Aldith coughed along with the other grunts.

"This is our chance Tepig," May told the pig and they ran off to the next of Pokémon just a few feet behind them, luckily the smoke hadn't reached them.

May kneeled down and looked at the saddened Pokémon. They all sad looks on their faces, especially the Alomomola that faced her, "Alo," it cried out.

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you out," May assured the Water-type.

The other Water-type Pokémon like Frillish and Ducklett also begged May to please set them free, but the brunette gritted her teeth in frustration, "I wish I had a knife or scissor. It'd be much easier to break this net," May said.

"Mola," Alomomola cried.

"Don't cry Alomomola, I'll set you free right now, trust me," May looked at the Water-type with tender eyes,

Alomomola looked at May and fell for the beautiful girl's sweet gaze, finally easing up a bit why May tried to bite the rope in hopes of breaking it. "I hate doing this type of stuff," May complained as she chewed on the rope, slowly breaking it with her teeth.

"Energy Ball!" a voice ordered and sound of an attack being blasted was heard.

May and Tepig quickly turned to the direction of the sound, spotting the Energy Ball just in time, May made a command, "Tepig, stop it with Flamethrower!"

"Teeeepiiiiig!" Tepig blew out the stream of fire and caused an explosion between the attacker and May.

"I told you to surrender, now suffer the consequences," Aldith revealed herself as she walked out of the cloud of smoke from the explosion. Next to her was an Amoonguss, the evolved form of Foongus.

May glared at Aldith and spoke, "If that Energy Ball hit the water Pokémon, you could've severely hurt them."

"That isn't my problem, now I'll give you one last chance to surrender," Aldith crossed her arms.

"No way, Tepig use Ember!" May commanded.

May's bravery impressed the Pokémon capture in the net behind her, especially Alomomola and they watched with interest as their rescuer prepared to take down the enemy. "Amoonguss, Double Team," Aldith ordered and the Amoonguss multiplied into six copies.

"Enlarge the Ember!" May pointed at the group of Amoonguss.

"Teeeepiiiiig!" Tepig snorted out a more powerful Ember to take them all down.

The small flames hit the Amoonguss like rain and with rather ease, they hit the correct Amoonguss, making it squeal in pain from the fire. "Amoonguss suck it up and use Spore!"

Amoonguss obeyed Aldith and glared at Tepig, releasing powerful spore aiming at Tepig. May smirked and spoke, "Those cheap tricks won't work. Tepig, stop it with Flamethrower!"

Tepig once again let out the powerful Fire-type attack and easily burned away Spore. Aldith groaned in annoyance and spoke, "I'm tired of games; I'm not here to battle. I'm here to do a mission, now get out of my way. Amoonguss, use Hyper Beam now!" Aldith pointed at Tepig.

"Amooooon!" Amoonguss yelled with anger and released the mighty red beam.

The captured Pokémon swore it was the end for their rescuer, but May didn't seem too concerned. May smiled confidently and said, "Tepig, dodge Hyper Beam and deliver a Flamethrower!" the girl extended her arm forward.

Tepig smirked and easily swerved away from the Hyper Beam, shocking Amoonguss and Aldith. Hyper Beam caused an explosion behind May, but everything remained unharmed while Tepig charged at Amoonguss, the pig then leaped into the air and released an impressive Flamethrower, "Teeeeepiiiiiig!" the pig cried out.

Flamethrower blasted Amoonguss with full force, making it squeal in pain while Aldith's eyes widened with horror. Tepig dropped to the ground while Amoonguss fell back unconscious. "Tepig," Tepig smirked when it landed.

"Looks like we won," May flashed a sly grin at Aldith.

Aldith groaned and returned her Pokémon, "I'm in need of back up stat!" Aldith turned around, but her eyes widened when she saw the other grunts with their defeated Pokémon and the nets secured by Ash and the rest.

"You won't be getting any back up," Wes smirked at the woman.

"You should probably give up at this point," Ash gave Aldith a sly grin.

Aldith stood frozen in fear until several voices echoed through the forest, "How pitiful."

"That certainly was a weak display of power," another voice said.

"Now looks like we'll have to take charge, sad," a third voice stated and sighed.

"Who's that?" Iris looked around.

"Whoever they are, they don't sound friendly," Cilan also searched frantically for the people speaking.

Wes, May, and Ash frowned and looked around as well while Aldith chuckled, "You punks are about to see who you're messing with."

The gang glared at her until they heard the sound of leaves rustling and three figures dropped from three different sides. They cornered the gang and the nets of Pokémon in a triangle, they had strange attire. They all wore the same uniform; their clothes were primarily black and gray, and the trio resembled ninjas. The three newcomers had cold, dark eyes and long white hair. All three stood up from their crouched position and eyed the gang.

Ash, May, and the gang became alarmed by their presence, not sure what to expect against the shadowy figures. "Who are you guys?" Ash hid May behind him, sensing danger and asked the trio sternly, but not sure which one to look out.

"I'm assuming you're allied with Team Neo Plasma," Wes glared at the one in front of him.

The trio chuckled until the one in front of Wes spoke, "We are…" and before finishing the other two ninjas got to his side with swift movements, "the Shadow Triad."

"Servants of Ghetsis and members of Team Neo Plasma," one of the other ninjas said.

Their voices were menacing and they slightly startled Iris and May. Wes glared at them while Cilan Ash prepared to any battle between them. "You must be the guardian of the forest, it is an honor to finally meet you," the middle ninja lowered his head and chuckled.

"If you find that an honor, then do yourself the honor of leaving this forest and the Pokémon in peace," Wes clenched his fists.

"We hate to break it to you, but we can't," one of the other ninjas replied.

"You see, we are scarce on Pokémon, and well, today is our hunting day. These Pokémon will make lovely additions to Team Neo Plasma," the middle ninja said once again with a sinister tone.

"No, do not get in our way, or you are bound to get hurt," the other ninja added.

"I refuse to let you do that," Wes glared at them.

"Your word means nothing; we rather listen to the couple behind you, who has apparently survived the chaos on Liberty Garden," the middle ninja eyed Ash and May.

May and Ash glared at the member of the Shadow Triad, not saying a word when the ninja referred to them. "We were informed by Colress and Ghetsis that you two had moved on to the other world. You were supposedly killed in the explosion at the lighthouse," the ninja to the middle one's right said.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear," Ash frowned at them.

The Shadow Triad closed their eyes and chuckled. The middle one opened his eyes and asked, "Well then, if you survived. You must know what happened to Victini, correct?"

"We don't know anything!" May spat at the middle one, protecting knowledge of her little one from the ninja.

"I don't believe her," the ninja to the middle one's left said.

"Neither do I, I can smell the lie coming from her breath," the right ninja stated.

"We'll ask politely one more time, where's Victini?" the middle ninja questioned, knowing very well that Ash and May knew of Victini's whereabouts.

"You heard what May said, we don't know anything," Ash frowned at the middle one.

The Shadow Triad sighed and their eyes flashed intense glares. The middle one then spoke again, "Well then, we'll have to do what our miserable squad failed to do," the ninja eyed the squad behind the gang, and they all had their heads lowered because they had failed their superiors.

"Aldith, Colress will like a word from you after this. For now though, step aside and we'll torture everything we need to know out of the brats," the left ninja said.

"Yes sir," Aldith bowed obediently and moved away from the gang and the nets with her squad.

"Banette, use Will-O-Wisp," the right ninja called out Banette.

Banette came out and grinned evilly, "Bane!" Banette summoned blue flames and shot them all over the place in a circle. A blue circle of fire enveloped the gang, the captured Pokémon, and the Shadow Triad, with Aldith's squad being excluded. Its raging blue flames were about six feet high and the gang and Pokémon became highly alerted by the menace the Shadow Triad posed.

Wes gritted his teeth and spat, "I'm going to leave you scarred!"

The Shadow Triad ignored Wes and the middle one said to the other two, "Take care of the guardian and the weird colored hair ones. I'll handle the other two," the middle ninja clearly referred to Iris and Cilan when he said "weird colored hair ones".

"Hey, my hair is not weird!" Iris yelled at the middle ninja.

"Who is he to criticize with such strange hair?" Cilan raised an eyebrow, commenting on the ninja's strange appearance.

Wes turned to Iris and Cilan, "I'll need the help from both of you. I can't handle the two of them."

Iris and Cilan nodded and got next to Wes. "Emolga, use Discharge!" Iris commanded, pointing at Banette.

"Eeeeemoooooo!" Emolga flew into the air released powerful volts of electricity.

"Stunfisk, use Thundershock!" Cilan also pointed at Banette.

"Stuuuuun!" Stunfisk obeyed and released a shock of electricity.

"Umbreon, use Shadow Ball," Wes also aimed at Banette.

"Acceglor, stop the Shadow Ball with Sludge Bomb!" the other ninja called out his Pokémon.

"Banette, redirect those electric attacks with Psychic," Banette's trainer ordered.

"Banette," Banette's eyes began to glow blue and so did Discharge and Thundershock.

Acceglor flew out of its Pokéball and shot a large ball of sludge just in time to cover Banette from Shadow Ball. The two attacks caused a midair explosion and Acceglor dropped to the ground as it prepared to face off against Umbreon.

Banette motioned its head downwards and the two glowing attacks then plunged into the ground, causing an explosion. Emolga and Stunfisk could only glare at Banette for easily countering their attacks while Banette chuckled.

The other ninja swiftly moved to Ash and May's position and proved taller up closer, the man was at least six feet. He looked at Ash and May with stern eyes, "You will regret having crossed Ghetsis," the ninja said.

Ash and May backed away with their Pokémon and glared at him. "We stopped his plans we'll stop yours," Ash frowned at him.

"We're going to put you down," May glared at their opponent.

"That's what you think, go Absol!" the ninja swiftly threw his Pokéball and the Disaster Pokémon came out, landing on the ground.

Ash focused his eyes on Absol and spoke, "Snivy, use Vine Whip on Absol!"

"Tepig, you use Take Down!" May ordered.

"Sni," Snivy released its long vines and charged them at Absol while Tepig rushed at Absol.

"Counter that Vine Whip with X-Scissor and then Psycho Cut on Tepig," the ninja calmly commanded.

"Ab…sol!" Absol pulled its head back and then swing it forward, releasing X-Scissor from its horn.

Snivy's Vine Whip was easily defeated by X-Scissor. The X-shaped attack exploded on contact, but Snivy was forced to retreat its vines, suffering great pain from the super-effective attack.

"Sniiii," Snivy groaned as it pulled its vines back.

"Absol!" Absol swing its head again, but this time released a Psycho Cut. The sickle-shaped energy attack charged at full force towards Tepig, but May acted fast.

"Tepig, dodge!" May ordered.

Tepig moved away just in time, much to May's relief, but suddenly, the Psycho Cut made a u-turn and hit Tepig. The energy attack bashed against Tepig and sent it crashing against the ground, "Tepiiiig!" the pig cried out.

"How weak, with my abilities I still can't understand why I don't belong to the Majestic 12," the ninja joked as Snivy and Tepig struggled against Absol.

The same went for Iris and Cilan, Banette easily overpowered Emolga and Stunfisk with Psychic, sending them crashing to the ground and then used Double Team to multiply into six, following it up with all of them using Shadow Claw against the electric pair.

Wes was the only who seemed to hold his own, but for how long? That remained uncertain. "Umbreon, go in for a Quick Attack!" Wes shouted.

"Um," Umbreon braced itself and charged at great speed towards Acceglor.

"Stop it with Focus Blast," the ninja commanded.

Acceglor formed the blue sphere in front of itself and launched it at Umbreon with full power. "Back flip it Umbreon!" Wes instructed.

As Focus Blast came its way, Umbreon stopped its Quick Attack and pushed itself into the air, flipping backward while narrowly dodging Focus Blast. The dodge movement was quick thinking and Wes wasted no time in making his next move, "Umbreon, use Shadow Ball Barrage!"

While Umbreon flew in the air, it turned back to Acceglor and quickly shot out the Ghost-type attack multiple times. It was like a shower of Shadow Balls coming Acceglor's way, but the ninja remained tranquil. "Go with a Bug Buzz," the member of the Shadow Triad instructed.

"Acce," Acceglor nodded and all of a sudden, let out a powerful screech, emitting strong waves all over the battlefield. Bug Buzz was so powerful it destroyed several of the Shadow Balls and sent Umbreon flying.

"Umbreon!" Umbreon cried out as he hit the ground, groaning in pain.

The remaining Shadow Balls also hit Acceglor and although it took heavy damage, the Bug-type endured the blows.

The Plasma squad watched in enjoyment as the Shadow Triad began to dominate the battle. The captured Pokémon became worried for their rescuers and felt like they had to do something, that's when an idea stuck all of them and they began to gnaw on the rope like they saw May do earlier.

The Karrablast, Deerling, Sawsbuck, Minccino, Darumaka, Alomomola, Rufflet, Braviary, Ducklett and many of the other captured Pokémon began to chew on the rope rapidly, in hopes of breaking free.

"Snivy, use Attract and then go for a Leaf Blade!" Ash instructed.

"Sniiiiivvvyyy!" Snivy leaped into the air and winked out pink-colored hearts at Absol.

"Tepig, go for a Flamethrower after Absol gets struck by Leaf Blade!" May screamed.

"Tepig," Tepig nodded.

"Counter Attract with Psycho Cut and then go in for the kill," the member of the Shadow Triad chuckled.

"Aaaaaabsoooool!" Absol swung its head and released Psycho Cut. The Psychic-type attack clashed with Attract and caused an explosion, but Ash and Snivy's failed strategy alarmed them. Suddenly, Absol jumped out of the cloud of smoke and swung its head one more time, releasing X-Scissor upon Snivy.

"Tepig, change of plans, stop X-Scissor with Flamethrower!" May ordered.

"Absol, stop Tepig with Aerial Ace," the ninja commanded.

When Tepig prepared to use Flamethrower, Absol eyed the pig and darted off at it. With amazing speed, Absol quickly struck down Tepig with a swing of its blade, causing the pig to go flying into the air and then dropping harshly on the ground. May gasped at her failed counter attack while Ash and Snivy failed to stop X-Scissor, the Bug-type move hit Snivy head on and sent it crashing into the ground.

Snivy and Tepig groaned in pain as they struggled to get it up, but Absol's trainer intended on ending this now, "Absol, deliver the final blow with a powered up Psycho Cut."

Absol swung its head back and its blade began to glow light blue. The Dark-type then swung forward yelling, "Aaaaabsooool!" unleashing Psycho Cut once more to strike down Ash and May's Pokémon.

Suddenly, a blue sphere of water shot out of nowhere and exploded on contact with Psycho Cut, the two attacks cancelling each other out. "What the," the ninja turned around and the captured Pokémon free, they were putting out the blue fires and assisting Iris, Cilan, and Wes in defeating his comrades. The Sawsbuck, Braviary, Escavalier, and many of the other Pokémon were bashing against Banette and Acceglor while a wild Alomomola and more Sawsbuck, Deerling, Karrablast, Rufflet, Braviary stood in front of him.

"The Pokémon set themselves free!" Ash realized in surprise.

"And they're helping us win!" May cheered.

"Impossible, Absol, stop them with Psycho Cut!" the ninja commanded.

Absol released the attack, but an Escavalier easily countered it with an X-Scissor. The Pokémon then threatened to pummel Absol and the ninja.

The copies of Banette tried to stop the stampede of Sawsbuck, but the Pokémon easily eradicated them with Grass-type attacks while the Braviary struck Acceglor down with Aerial Ace.

"This is great; I can't believe they are helping us like this!" Iris clasped her hands with joy.

"A truly sweet taste," Cilan let out a sigh of relief since he and Iris were driven to a corner by Banette.

"You can always trust Pokémon," Wes smiled, admiring the powerful residents of the forest.

The Plasma squad became horrified by the outcome and retreated into the forest by Aldith's commands. Absol's trainer groaned and returned Absol before they could harm his Pokémon, "Retreat!" the man yelled and swiftly dashed through the blue flames.

The other two ninjas quickly dodged the wild Pokémon's attacks and returned their Pokémon. The pair also swiftly dashed through the now weak fires and escaped into the forest. "They're getting away!" May yelled.

"Don't worry, they won't be back for a while now that they've witnessed the power of this forest," Wes told May, calming her down.

As the water Pokémon extinguished the fires from Will-O-Wisp, the Pokémon cheered for their victory over the invaders. When they put out the last of the fire, Wes and the wild Pokémon smiled at the teens, "The Pokémon and I would like to thank you for helping us today," Wes said.

Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan smiled at Wes and the Pokémon along with their Pokémon. "No problem," Ash placed his hands behind his head.

"We're glad that we helped," May smiled.

"Even though the enemy did prove stronger, you put a great fight, all of you and your Pokémon," Wes complimented.

The gang smiled at Wes, but May became surprised when she heard a familiar Pokémon call her out, "Alo!"

"Huh?" May looked down and saw Alomomola, smiling at her.

"Alomomola," Alomomola grinned happily.

"Hey there," May kneeled down to greet the 3 foot Pokémon.

"Alo," Alomomola repeated happily.

"Alomomola wants to thank you personally for protecting her and her friends today May," Wes informed the brunette.

"Really?" May looked at Wes and then at Alomomola, "Well you're welcome," the coordinator giggled.

"Mola," Alomomola said.

"It would also like you to catch it," Wes added.

"Catch it?" Ash asked Wes.

"Why?" Iris asked with a baffled expression.

"The answer is quite simple," Cilan said since he was the only who seemed to know why.

However, Wes was the one who explained it, "May, that Alomomola saw how hard you were trying to protect it. It saw the dedication in you, and it admired the strength and bravery you showed off against Team Neo Plasma. Alomomola sees you as someone it'd like to be raised under.

May looked at Alomomola and asked, "Is that true?"

"Alo," Alomomola nodded joyfully.

The brunette grinned and brought out a Pokéball, "If that's the case, welcome to the team Alomomola."

"Mola!" Alomomola cheered and the red beam from the ball enveloped Alomomola. Alomomola went inside and the ball didn't even have to shake before sealing, it instantly shut after May caught Alomomola.

May got up and smiled, "Alright, I got an Alomomola!" The brunette struck the same pose Ash normally did after catching a Pokémon and Iris and Cilan laughed while Ash raised an eyebrow.

The brunette winked at Ash and said, "What? Can't I be like you sometimes?" The girl giggled after saying that.

Ash smiled sweetly at her and said, "Congratulations on your new Pokémon, May."

* * *

"Victini, Blaziken!" May greeted the two Fire-types and hugged Victini the moment the gang entered Wes's wooden cabin.

"Blaziken," Blaziken greeted May with a cool smile.

"Victini vi!" Victini cheered and returned the hug.

"Axew ax!" Axew leaped into Iris's arms.

"Hey Axew," Iris embraced Axew happily.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms.

"Hey there pal," Ash smiled when he held Pikachu in his arms.

"Tini!" Victini called Ash from May's arms and the boy walked over to it once Pikachu got on his shoulders.

"Hey Victini, glad you're alright," Ash placed his hand on the little one's head and petted it.

"Thank goodness, I was worried about you," May continued to hug Victini and cradle it in her arms while Ash continued to pet it.

Blaziken and Pikachu watched their masters treat Victini like if it were their child and the two Pokémon smirked at each other, teasing the two trainers in their own language.

"Good job Honchkrow," Wes smiled at the bird that stood on his shoulders.

"Honch," Honchkrow nodded and grinned.

"Yet another hard fought battle and we come out victorious," Iris said happily, still holding Axew in her arms.

"All's well that ends well," Cilan stated.

With that the group stood there with their respective Pokémon, happy about the outcome of yet another difficult day.

* * *

"Alive!" Ghetsis yelled, slamming his fist on the table while the Shadow Triad stood in front of him.

"How can this be?" Colress became shocked by the news and placed his hand on his chin.

"Phantom told us he left a bomb ticking for them back in Castelia City," Giovanni stated.

"They're alive and well, they defeated an entire squad with their friends, foiled our plans. We were unable to defeat them after the wild Pokémon ganged up on us," the middle ninja said.

"We believe they are also in possession of Victini," Acceglor's trainer said.

"It couldn't have been more blatant in their faces," Banette's trainer said.

"Shadow, Shade, Ghost, did you learn anything else?" Ghetsis sighed and inquired.

"No sir," Shadow, Absol's trainer answered.

"What shall we do now master?" Ghost, Acceglor's trainer, questioned.

"There must be a way to make up for this failed mission," Shade, Banette's trainer, said.

"You could go after Victini," Colress smirked at the idea of taking what they lost at Liberty Garden.

"Forget Victini that is no longer our objective. If there comes a time when we will retrieve it, then we shall. Right now, we have another task at hand," Omega came out of the shadows, speaking with his normal, but deep and intimidating voice.

"Didn't you hear what they said though, Ash and May are alive, and it is most likely that they have Victini with them," Giovanni told Omega.

"Yes, but knowing the good nature those two have. They wouldn't dare harness the power of Victini, and it comes no surprise to me that they are alive. I never believed Phantom the moment the words came out of his mouth. It'll take more than a bomb to rid us of those two," Omega informed them.

"Then what will exterminate those brats once and for all?!" Ghetsis asked angrily, wishing Ash and May gone once and for all.

"Leave that business to me, I have just the plan to break them once and for all," Omega smirked sinisterly, leaving the other leaders and Shadow Triad perplexed about what the Majestic 12 leader has in store.

**Any of you guys familiar with Wes from the Gamecube game? The character that debuted in this chapter is largely based off that guy. I don't know why I decided to include him, but even though I never played Pokemon Colosseum, he seemed like a pretty cool character. As to whether he'll appear again, I still don't know, it's a possibility sinceI believe he played his part perfectly in this chapter. Plus, the story about Wes will have a great impact on Ash later on and his story will help Ash mature greatly and help us understand a bit more about Ash means by becoming a "Pokemon Master" since that's always been a mystery in the anime. I think that's what I enjoyed most about this chapter, because much of it, especially the first half will have a deep impact on Ash's as a trainer and the level of maturity he has. The Shadow Triad also finally appeared, they'll become just as troublesome as Team Rocket, I can guarantee you that. I know the Shadow Triad pummeled the gang in this chapter, but in their next appearance, they won't be so frighteningly imposing, it's not like they're those guys from the Majestic 12 right? The second half went at a faster pace because I didn't want this chapter to end up being 100,000 words or so, but I hoped you liked it. May caught a new Pokemon, Ash and May's relationship with Victini developed a bit more and so did their own with that flashback. The dream just had the purpose of exploring our favorite couple a bit more and to alarm Ash a bit about the threat Omega can pose if this goes on. Btw sorry for the late update, I'll try to update sooner next time and hopefully its a (though it ends up being the opposite) shorter chapter. K, hope you enjoyed it, remember to REVIEW PM OR WHATEVER LOL and I'll see you guys next time!**


	30. A Threat in Legends

Chapter 30: Everybody Wants to Rule

"Axew, use Dragon Rage!" Iris instructed.

"Aaaaaxeeeeew!" Axew charged up Dragon Rage and opened its jaw wide to unleash the ferocious attack.

"Petilil, use Magical Leaf to counter!" May ordered, pointing at the incoming Dragon Rage.

"Petilil!" Petilil cried out and used Magical Leaf, but the multicolored attack came out in a unique form, Magical Leaf shot out in similar way to Leaf Tornado. The multicolored leaf tornado charged at Dragon Rage with full strength, entering a power struggle with the mighty dragon attack.

"That's a very original form of usage coming from May. It's obvious she's practiced hard with her Petilil to perfect Magical Leaf to come out as a Leaf Tornado," Cilan commented as he watched on the sidelines.

"May is no doubt going to win her contest with those kinds of skills," Ash had his arms crossed and watched the battle between Iris and May with interest.

"Pika pikachu," Pikachu talked to Victini from Ash's shoulder as they watched the battle.

"Vi victini tini," Victini nodded happily and hoped May would come out as the victor.

The clash between Dragon Rage and Magical Leaf eventually in favor of Iris and the dragon move easily overpowered Magical Leaf, sending the Grass-type attack back along with Dragon Rage. The explosion from the blast brought upon Petilil caused rocks and dust to fly everywhere, while Petilil also flew to May's feet, landing near her black and white shoes.

"Petilil, can you keep going?" May asked with concern as she looked down at her partner.

"Peti," Petilil smirked and got up, even though it groaned in pain from suffering a major blow.

"Axew, one more hit and we win this," Iris smiled at her friend.

"Ax," Axew smiled confidently.

"Petilil, let's show them how wrong they are, use Synthesis!" May extended her arm to the right with excitement.

"What, no way!" Iris gasped with shock.

"Axew!" Axew also became alarmed.

Petilil closed its eyes and began to glow white, but then blue, green, red and many other rainbow colors as energy from the sun's rays were absorbed. It was gorgeous and bright sight, neither Cilan nor Iris had ever seen Synthesis be used in such a brilliant way. Many of the scratches and bruises Petilil had received faded away into nothing, the Grass-type had quickly recovered from its battle with Axew.

"Axew, we have to stop them, let's perfect Dragon Rage once and for all, use it at full power!" Iris pointed at Petilil.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaxeeeeeeeeeeeeew!" Axew charged up the blue energy and blasted it out like a blue bolt of lightning. The attack was so massive and powerful, as it shot through the field; it caused pebbles and rocks to rise up from the ground due to its awesome power.

"Wow," the teenagers all said in amazement, not believing the amount of power Axew had just exerted.

"Petilil, use Magical Leaf to shoot you up!" May yelled.

Petilil nodded and the little Pokémon aimed its trajectory downward. The Grass-type then released a barrage of Magical Leaf in the same tornado-like style and the force from the attack pushed Petilil high into the air. The only thing Dragon Rage managed to hit were the rainbow leaves Petilil had used to avoid the Dragon-type attack.

"Ash, May certainly has a very strategic way of battling, it somewhat resembles yours," Cilan mentioned.

"Yeah, during our first journey together, May adopted a lot of my strategies, but after she left to Johto, she sought out a different style. She still kept some of my moves and mixed up with ones she discovered alone, it's a deadly beauty type of battle style. She pulls off very powerful and strategic attacks like me while executing them in a very elegant coordinator-style," Ash explained to Cilan.

The gym leader nodded and continued to watch while Victini and Pikachu admired May's colorful, beautiful, yet deadly tactics that were easily overpowering Iris.

While Petilil was still midair, May wasted no time in making her next move, "Petilil, let's finish this with Giga Drain!"

"Axew, watch out!" Iris told her dragon friend.

Petilil had a green aura around it the moment it began to charge energy and in the next, it released a green energy beam from the aura enveloping it. It charged at Axew with great speed, but neither Iris nor Axew were ready to quit yet, "Axew, move away!"

"Axew ax," Axew leaped out of harm's way while the beam passed by, but May kept smiling.

Suddenly, the green beam turned around and charged once again at Axew. "Axew!" Iris cried out, but this time it was too late, the green energy had wrapped itself around Axew, crushing it with all its force.

"Aaaax!" Axew desperately tried to break free, but Giga Drain was too strong.

Petilil landed gently on the floor and drained away the remaining amount of Axew's power. The Grass-type smirked and absorbed the last of the dragon's energy, before finally letting it go.

"Axew," Axew dropped forward unconscious.

"That's that," May smiled and kneeled down to pet Petilil, "Great work Petilil, you've earned yourself a good rest." The brunette then returned the Grass-type to its ball.

"May, I want to thank you for battling Axew and I," Iris had walked over to May and stood in front of the coordinator with Axew in her arms.

"Thank you guys, I had fun battling both of you, and with that amount of practice I'm no doubt going to win my next ribbon," May spoke confidently.

"There's no doubt about that, by the way, Axew also wants to thank you for helping it finally perfect Dragon Rage," Iris told the sapphire-eyed girl.

"Ax ax axew," Axew grinned at May from Iris's arms, still covered in wounds, but smiling.

"No problem Axew, after all that training you've done with Dragon Rage, it's nice to see that you've managed to use it with the same kind of power you did earlier," May rubbed its head and smiled sweetly, causing Axew to blush lightly.

Ash placed his hands behind his back as Iris and May talked, "You know Cilan, it's nice to see every one making so much progress lately."

"I agree, it certainly gives off a delicious taste of achievement," Cilan responded with delight in his voice.

"We've all recently caught new Pokémon that has made us even stronger than we were before, Axew has unlocked the full potential of its Dragon Rage, I won the Toxic Badge, and May's own victory is coming up," Ash spoke proudly of the gang's latest and future achievements.

"Don't forget, we've also had good luck by running into some many incredible people like Wes," Cilan mentioned the most recent person they met.

"Definitely, even though Wes did startle us when we first encountered him, he turned out to be a pretty nice guy. Plus, he did give us some extra supply and told us about the shortcut to the next town," Ash added.

"Yep and thanks to that information he gave us, we'll reach the town at nightfall instead of tomorrow like previously planned," Cilan said.

Ash nodded and looked at Pikachu and Victini, who were both to his left. "Hear that you two, you ready to see May perform?" the raven-haired teen spoke with an excited tone.

"Vi tini," Victini hovered near Ash's shoulder and shook its head happily.

"Pikapi pika," Pikachu also replied joyfully.

"Ready to keep moving guys," May walked over to the two males with Iris.

"If we move now, we'll reach the next town in no time," Iris said excitedly.

"Axew ax," Axew smiled, sharing its trainer's excitement as it stuck its head out from her hair.

"Let's go then," Ash grinned and began to take a few steps until the ground began to shake.

The gang quickly became alerted and Ash's eyes widened, "Do you guys feel that?"

"It feels like the whole ground is shaking apart," May stiffened to maintain her balance from the tremor.

"Is it an earthquake?" Iris gritted her teeth from nervousness and stiffened.

"No, look over there!" Cilan pointed to their left.

The gang looked over to where Cilan pointed a saw a herd of may be hundreds of Grass-type Pokémon charging their way as they dashed out of the forest. "It's a bunch of grass Pokémon!" Iris shouted out.

"Stampeding in our direction!" May yelled with fear.

"Run for it!" Ash exclaimed.

The teens braced themselves and prepared to run, but the superior speed of Sawsbuck caught up with them in no time. Many other Grass-type Pokémon followed close behind, more Sawsbuck stomped over the gang, Pansage and Simisage jumped on top of them in order to pass, Sewaddle, Swadloon, and Leavanny also walked over the teens. Several Deerling, Foongus, and Amoonguss also walked on top of the gang, leaving their footprints on the gang's clothing.

The rapid pace of the herd left the gang lying in the dust, causing them to cough as the Pokémon dashed in the opposite direction from where they came, but back into the forest, leaving the opening behind them. "Is it over?" Iris said weakly, her appearance a mess after having been trampled.

"Looks like it," Cilan grinned sheepishly as he slowly sat up.

"My hair," May whined as she sat up, her hair left frizzy and sticking out in all directions.

"I only feel that kind of stampede back at home from my Tauros," Ash pushed himself up into push up position and coughed.

"Pikaaa," Pikachu sighed as he sat up, covered in dirt like everyone else.

"Ax," Axew also let out a deep breath as it shook off as much dirt off it as possible.

"Victini tini?" Victini lowered down to gang, the only member of the group who was left unscathed.

"Victini, you flew up so you could avoid the stampede, good job," Ash smiled weakly.

"I wish I was you," May grinned sheepishly at the Fire-type, who smiled at her and grinned at the rest of them, glad none of them were too hurt.

All of a sudden, the ground began to shake once again. "Oh no, not again!" Iris panicked while sitting on the ground.

"It's not the same Pokémon this time though," Cilan pointed to the same direction from before.

The others looked and true to Cilan's words, a different stampede charged their way. This one didn't vary like the other because they only saw two types of Pokémon coming their way, although one of them was unfamiliar to Ash and May.

"What's that other Pokémon marching with the dozens of Galvantula," Ash took out his Pokédex.

"Ferrothorn, by swinging around its three spiky feels and shooting spikes, it can obliterate an opponent," it stated with a robotic voice.

"I don't like the look on any of the two," May's eyes widened with fear as the violent-looking Bug-type Pokémon marched towards them.

"Run!" Cilan yelled, but like before it was too late and the bug Pokémon were already at a close proximity.

The kids and their eyes widened as they prepared for another series of stomps until a voice exclaimed, "Stop!" The next second they saw something land in front of them with a bright glowing green horn that blinded the bug Pokémon and forced them to retreat back into the forest with fear.

As the horn and light slowly faded away, the teens got a better view of who had saved them. "Is that?" Iris squinted a bit as the light still remained present.

"No way," Ash became surprised as his vision returned.

"Could it be?" May opened her mouth in surprise.

"It can't be," Cilan's eyes were in disbelief.

Axew, Pikachu, and Victini also looked at the figure with amazement, their jaws hanging with shock. _It's nice to see all of you again_, the light had completely vanished by this and revealed a smiling figure.

"Virizion!" they all yelled simultaneously.

_Hello there, _Virizion chuckled at their reaction.

The gang quickly regained its composure and they all got up from the floor. "Thanks for saving us!" May had never been so relieved to see a Legendary Pokémon and save her from probably one of the worst bad hair days.

"Yeah, you showed up just in time!" Iris also had the same sensation as May.

"We don't know how to thank you," Cilan smiled as he got dirt off his clothes.

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu also thanked the Grass-type.

"Ax axew," Axew did the same as Pikachu.

Victini was the only who didn't seem to know how to react, sensing Virizion's great power, it wasn't sure if it was a friendly Pokémon so it hovered close to Ash. "Uuuhh, not that we don't appreciate your help and all Virizion, but what are you doing here?" The auburn-eyed boy asked with curiosity.

"That's true, we never expected to see you again," May added.

Virizion smiled and closed her eyes, _I'd see why you would believe that, but the answer is simple, I've been following the four of you. _

"What?!" Iris raised her eyebrow in surprise while the others became confused by her response.

"But why have you been following us?" Cilan inquired.

Virizion opened her eyes and sighed, _you see, I need your help urgently. _

"What for?" Ash raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms while Pikachu got on his shoulder to listen.

_If you follow me, I'll answer as many questions as you have, _Virizion began to slowly walk in the direction from where the stampedes had come from. She looked at the gang and smiled.

The teens all looked at each other and nodded sternly, Ash turned to Virizion and smiled, "Alright."

Virizion grinned and began to walk slowly into the forest. The gang ran to her side and walked at her pace, "So why have you been following us?" Ash asked with a curious tone.

_I've been following you since Castelia City, _Virizion responded.

"But why?" Ash became slightly annoyed that his question wasn't getting answered.

_Because of the little one you have there, _Virizion's gaze focused on Victini, who hovered near May's shoulder. When Victini noticed that Virizion was staring at it, the shy infant hid behind May's head while May sighed at Victini's shyness and grinned sheepishly at Virizion, as if apologizing for Victini's behavior.

_No need to fear me little one, the power you are sensing might be intimidating, but you possess the same kind if not higher. You don't need to hide from me, _Virizion spoke with a very soft, sweet tone as it tried to get Victini to stop hiding from her.

"Vi," Victini took a peek at the grass Pokémon, eyeing her curiously.

_Don't be afraid, I'm just like you, _Virizion continued to speak with the same tone as it looked into Victini's large eyes.

"Tini vi!" Victini smiled happily and flew over to Virizion, hugging it happily.

May had gotten slightly jealous when she saw that another female had gotten the little one's attention, but she didn't mind. Ash, Pikachu, Axew, Iris, and Cilan were surprised with how easily Virizion had gotten Victini's confidence and they were now rubbing their heads against each other like Pokémon friends.

_You remind me of another little one, you two share the same personality, _Virizion stopped rubbing her horn against Victini and smiled at it.

"V," Victini grinned back at Virizion.

Victini then hovered over back to May and sat on her right shoulder, happy to be back with May again even though it was just a brief separation. The two smiled sweetly at each other as Virizion got back to her explanation.

_As I was saying, the reason I have been following you kids is because of Victini. Back in Castelia City, I had witnessed the whole incident there unfold like a wild fire. After we met in Pinwheel Forest, I was investigating the reason for the frightening disturbance in the air, I looked into the criminal activities involving the people that attacked me and how they were related to the trouble looming over the Pokémon world and the troubling sensation blowing in the wind that indicates a large disaster brewing. Of course, my investigation had to come to a halt when I sensed the mayhem originating in Castelia City. The thing that frightened me most of that occurrence was the tremendous power I had felt, power far beyond mine. When I reached Castelia City, the power lurking there had been from none other than Dialga, _Virizion recollected memories of her experience in that event, dashing through the forest at her highest speed; she stopped in her tracks when she saw half of Castelia City emitting smoke and frightening energy emanating from there.

"Of course, the power you sensed was from Roxas's Dialga," Cilan slammed his fist into his palm.

"That Pokémon was the most powerful and beautiful thing I had ever seen. It helped us out a lot that day against the bad guys," Iris recalled the incident.

Ash and May on the other hand, stayed quiet and began to remember Dialga. Roxas had called out the Pokémon of time in an attempt to stop the havoc the Majestic 12 had brought upon the busy city. They easily remembered how it used Roar of Time in an effort to stop the Liberty Tower from falling over millions of lives. The mighty roar of the dragon still echoed through their ears.

_Yes Dialga, but prior to Victini's awakening I had also sensed other legendary power, but this one was more difficult to identify. It was an evil, dark, and shadowy power, I could tell the Pokémon was trying to hide is identity as it flew high above the clouds, striking down the Liberty Tower with might I'd only expect from a member of the Creation or Weather Trio. After it blasted that Shadow Ball though, the evil power vanished instantly; I still wonder where it went or how it managed to disappear in such an instant. Following Dialga's release, I felt the various Pokémon battles raging throughout lower Castelia, it was disturbing to feel so much malicious power, and I could easily identify two of those powers as the same ones that attacked me in Pinwheel Forest. The next thing I realized that alarmed me was how the main part of the battle transitioned to Liberty Garden. That's when I realized their target was Victini, the Victory Pokémon residing on that island. I could sense the efforts of all of you and your Pokémon fighting against those people, you were protecting Victini with all your might, _Virizion continued to tell her story as the gang listened intently, it was like hearing an actual story to them, even though they lived and participated in it.

_When I realized that the Majestic 12 and their allies were after Victini, I realized another thing. Like they tried to do with Victini, they tried to do with me, the concept became so clear. They were trying to capture us. My thoughts led me to believe that these organizations have been trying to round up the legendary Pokémon of Unova, with the assault they did on me and then on Victini, I began to feel that this was certainly the case, _the Grass-type Legendary explained to them.

Ash then recounted everything Virizion just said, "So, after what the Majestic 12 had tried to do with you and what they tried to do with Victini, you realized they are basically hunting down Legendary Pokémon."

_Correct, and the word "hunting" has a perfect fit with what those people are doing. It may sound like a basic plan, but after seeing what they can do, how tactical they are, how prepared they are, how knowledgeable they are and how strong they are , I fear it is a difficult blueprint to stop, _Virizion replied.

As they walked through the forest, which they had now entered, May and the others quickly began to notice how they deeper they went in, the more deteriorated the conditions of the forest began to appear. Entire trees were collapsed, the only thing left from other trees was broken trunks, there were holes everywhere, and dirt appeared around every corner. Other trunks had slashes across them, other parts of the forest look like they had experienced a fire since there were burned trees and leaves around. The condition of the forest worried the gang deeply and the only thing they thought was _what could've happened. _

_ That's when I decided to follow you, Ash, May, _Virizion said, appearing to be oblivious to her surroundings unlike the others, _after I came to my conclusion, I followed the two of you around because you were the ones who Victini was with after you escaped the battle in the lighthouse. As I spied on you from a distance, I secretly looked after Victini and saw the endeavors you two made to protect it. I honestly doubted you could keep it this safe for so long, after all, I've always doubted humans for their abilities, but you two had proven me wrong this time. I witnessed the measure you took to protect Victini when you encountered Wes and went off with him to battle Team Neo Plasma, you left Victini with your strongest Pokémon in order to secure its well-being. I even heard the discussion the four of you had in Virbank City right before entering the Virbank Gym, you knew you had to be cautious and not let anyone see Victini because it would risk its safety. I apologize for my error of doubting the four of you and your Pokémon, you've all acted valiantly in order to keep Victini safe, _Virizion grinned at them proudly.

"Thank you Virizion, but-," May responded, however, before she could finish Ash interrupted.

"Virizion, haven't you noticed that almost half of this forest is destroyed," Ash stopped for a moment and looked at their environment, the place was in ruin.

_So you've noticed_, Virizion smirked at them.

"What do you mean?" Iris became baffled.

_I've seen forests and other natural habitats like this all over Unova since I left Pinwheel Forest. I've found them all in ruin,_ Virizion sighed.

When Virizion said this, they all became alarmed, "But do you know?" Cilan asked with concern.

_The Pokémon in Unova have gotten extremely aggressive lately and it is because the balance of the region is tilting in a negative way. It is the disturbance that I stated before; the activities of these villains roaming Unova have disturbed nature and Pokémon. All the hunting and battling organizations like Team Plasma and Team Rocket have done, has destroyed the homes of many Pokémon, they are capturing Pokémon like if they were trying to build armies. The Pokémon you saw earlier, Galvantula and Ferrothorn are an example of this effect, they normally don't reside in these sector of the woods, they live even deeper within the forest. However, thanks to Team Neo Plasma and those other villains, they lost their homes and they entered a territorial battle with the Grass-type Pokémon you saw earlier, in hope of making a new home where the Grass-type Pokémon normally live, which is this sector that we are passing by, _Virizion stated with a tone of anger emerging in her voice as they walked through the destroyed woods.

"Does this mean the reason why this part of the forest is like this, is because of the battles going on among the Pokémon for territory?" May asked with alarm in her tone.

_Yes, this is the result of malevolent actions certain humans have caused and the reason why the balance has become disturbed, _Virizion responded, reminiscing on the times when most humans appeared to her as evil as Team Rocket and Plasma are.

"The thing with the Team Plasmas and Team Rocket invading places and capturing Pokémon sounds like the type of thing we experienced back with Wes, when Team Neo Plasma appeared there and tried to capture the Pokémon living there," Ash said, thinking about the experience and trying to imagine it happening on the soil they were walking over.

_That's right, I saw that event transpire as well, but a single human alone cannot stop this madness. The search for the Legendary Pokémon has also greatly stressed the Pokémon; they have sensed what has been happening recently, they felt Victini's well-being getting threatened, they also sensed the energy of the Pokémon Dialga and all these other incidents have caused the Pokémon to worry about the condition in which they are living in. Legendary Pokémon getting attacked is something very grave to all Pokémon around the world and they feel like their well-beings are being threatened if a Legendary Pokémon's well-being is threatened. _

Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Victini, and Axew all became very distressed as Virizion told them about the problems present in the Unova region and how that was affecting Pokémon. Suddenly, they now felt that the activities of all these wicked organizations had an even deadlier effect on the balance of things than they had previously imagined.

"This has to be the sourest news I've received in a while," Cilan said as they walked.

"I wish we could find a way to help," Iris said with sadness.

May then had a thought and spoke softly, "Virizion, didn't you say you needed our help?"

"Does it have to do with helping out in the problem that's going on right now?" Ash questioned, like the others, he was also devastated by the news Virizion stated and felt like he wanted to help.

Virizion nodded and smiled, _Of course, I need the assistance of you and your Pokémon against a powerful foe that even I'm hopelessly weak against. That foe also happens to be quite violent so it's best to be careful. _

"Powerful foe…" Ash restated.

"Violent," May repeated.

"Hopelessly weak against," Iris reaffirmed.

"Who is this foe?" Cilan inquired.

Pikachu, Victini, and Axew became very troubled when Virizion said they would encounter an opponent who was much stronger than her. The mouse and dragon then quickly remembered the last battle they had with Virizion in Pinwheel Forest, they were completely powerless back then, so if this foe is even stronger than Virizion, then it would certainly prove a greater challenge.

_This opponent has no limits to its power. It is on pair with that of the group of Legendary Pokémon I belong to and it has become as hostile and troubled as the regular Pokémon because it knows that even though it is a Legendary Pokémon, it is also at risk of danger, _the Grass-type mentioned to them.

"Virizion, if you've been following us, then you must know about the incident with the Ghost-type Pokémon, May and I after being separated from Iris and Cilan right?" Ash asked the Grassland Pokémon.

"And about the trouble with Emolga, Palpitoad, Stunfisk, and Foongus too, right?" May added on to Ash's inquiry.

_If you're wondering what I think you're wondering then yes, those Pokémon are an example of just how aggressive the Pokémon of Unova have gotten. I could sense that those Pokémon were feeling endangered by the presence of you, they felt like you were threatening its territory and it is why they attacked you the way they did. It's an epidemic of hostility surging throughout this region, I'm afraid; _the Fighting-type answered their question before they even answered it.

The gang became surprised with the explanation Virizion had given them. It had finally explained to them as to why they were running into so much trouble with violent Pokémon like Golurk and Palpitoad.

"Holy cow, what happened to this place?!" Iris stopped and yelled when she the area they were now approaching.

The others also became anxious and rushed to the scene. Virizion followed close behind them and when the group stopped, they saw a part of the forest that was in even worse condition than the other part they had passed. There were absolutely no trees, just stumps and broken wood lying everywhere, signs of fire could be read on the floor, the grass, and the wood. The ruined zone stretched for miles according to as far as the teens' eyes could see.

"This place looks like it got a bomb dropped on it," Cilan's eyes were wide with horror.

"Did another Pokémon battle take place here?" May turned to Virizion with a distressed look.

_I wish, _Virizion frowned as it examined the area.

"Do you mean it wasn't a Pokémon battle that did this?!" Iris freaked out; already furious with the way the condition of this forest was in.

_Victini, if you don't mind, please project my memories with your power so that the others may see what occurred here, _Virizion lowered its head.

"Vi…" Victini hovered over to Virizion with a sad gaze and placed its small hand on the large Pokémon's head.

The others watched in silence as a blue orb of energy came out of Virizion's head and floated above the ground for a second, until it burst, creating an image of the same spot, except with Pokémon running in fear and Rocket and Neo Plasma grunts attacking.

They all watched in horror as they saw the grunts burn down the forests with matches and used Pokémon like Garbodor and Golbat to round up as many Pokémon as possible. They saw a couple of baby Minccino being protected by what appeared to be its mother, a Cinccino. The Cinccino stood bravely in front of a Seviper that tried to target its children.

May and the others could hear the faint voice of a grunt yelling, "Poison Tail!" At that sudden moment, the Seviper's tail began to glow purple and bashed it against the Cinccino, sending it flying against a tree and leaving its eyes shut permanently. Other Rocket and Plasma grunts then popped out of the bushes and threw a net over the baby Minccino and dragged them across the dirt as they cried for their mama, who did nothing but lie against the tree with her eyes closed. The image of the mama then disappeared along with the rest of the area since a match was thrown and set the place ablaze.

Ash lowered his head, clenched his fists, and hid his eyes underneath the brim of his hat while Pikachu watched with pure despair. Victini and May's eyes began to fill with tears while Iris and Axew quietly watched while crying and Cilan looked away the moment the place was set completely on fire, even the Striaton Gym Leader failed to fight back the few tears streaming down his cheeks.

_This sector is probably one of the worst that's suffered a heavy attack from those people, I was here when it happened, and I looked on with horror, I prepared to do everything I could to save those poor Pokémon. Unfortunately, there were too many grunts for me to handle so I could only watch from a distance as I saw my own kind cry itself into the beginning of a nightmare, _Virizion shut her eyes and a small tear dropped from her face.

* * *

**Later…finally reaching destination**

"Why did we stop here?" Ash asked, standing in front of the base of a mountain.

_This is where I'll need your help, _Virizion answered.

"Then we're ready!" May made a fist, after seeing Virizion's memory, May and every other member of the gang prepared to do whatever it took to stop the bad guys.

"We're ready to stop Team Neo Plasma and Team Rocket!" Iris added, speaking loudly and angrily.

"We're right behind you," Cilan said to Virizion with a brave tone.

_All of you stand back, _Virizion told them.

_I wonder what Virizion is going to do, _Ash thought in his mind as he stepped back with Pikachu. The pair was eager to do everything they could to help Virizion if it would stop the violence the Rockets and Plasmas have caused.

May took a few steps back with Victini, the duo was also eager to assist the Grassland Pokémon. They all watched while Virizion got into a battle stance and a glowing green horn formed on her head.

"Virizion is using Sacred Sword," Cilan commented.

"What's it going to do though?" Iris watched with interest.

_Just wait, _Virizion replied and glared at the rocky wall in front of them. She leaped into the air and when she prepared to come down to earth, the Grass-type leaned forward and slashed the rocky wall in front of them.

Virizion's head hung low after slashing and a long slash could be seen across the rocky wall. In a few seconds, the entire wall crumbled and revealed an entrance. "Wow, so that's what Virizion was going to do," May stated.

"Didn't expect this place to have an entrance, guess we have to go inside now," Ash said and began to walk.

_Stay close to me, its best if you do, _Virizion told them as she walked inside. When they walked in, they became amazed to find torches hanging from the walls.

"Does someone live here?" Iris questioned.

_No, this place is abandoned, _Virizion continued to walk.

"Then how are these torches still able to illuminate?" Cilan asked, not seeing how this could make sense.

_Because the fire on these torches is that of an ancient generation of Victini, the fire of a Legendary Pokémon cannot die out as easily as regular fire; _the wise Pokémon explained and took a glimpse at Victini. Victini merely looked into the fire of the torches as they walked by; the Victory Pokémon could clearly sense the power in the fire that was similar to his.

_It's best if we all stay close and alert, this hidden room doesn't liberate us from any danger, _Virizion informed the teens.

"Hear that Pikachu?" Ash told Pikachu.

"Pika," Pikachu nodded sternly, prepared for any danger like its trainer.

"Victini, get close to me," May ordered.

"Vi," Victini hovered over a bit closer to May.

As they walked, they noticed that their seemed to be some ancient drawings on the ancient Egyptian-like walls. They noticed various simplistic drawings of humans and very odd creatures flying above them, the whole place seemed to have mysterious energy in the air.

"Virizion, what is this place?" Ash inquired.

_We are entering the Ventus Chamber. These maze-like halls and the chamber I'm leading you to, were built long ago by an ancient civilization. The ancient people that resided here dedicated this secret room to the Cyclone Pokémon, Tornadus. The drawings you see on these walls that you are probably wondering about are depictions of the ancient people encountering Tornadus and the other members of the Kami Trio. These people adored the Kami trio for the favors it did them, Thundurus was the guardian of these people whenever another foreign civilization from let's say Sinnoh threatened them. Thundurus would take the side of these people the wars and guaranteed them many victories. Landorus, gifted them with a soil that produced vegetation in vast amounts and Tornadus would use its wind powers to allow these people to have their ships sail around the world, and like Thundurus, fended off any enemies of the ancient Unova people. As a thank you to the Kami trio, they constructed three chambers across Unova, dedicating each one to a certain member of the Kami trio; this one is Tornadus's, _the Grass-type member of the Swords of Justice educated the group.

"Yes, now that I remember it, I read documents about the existence of these chambers, but it is only considered mere rumor because no human has ever been able to locate one of the chambers," Cilan began to recollect his prior knowledge on these chambers.

_No human may have discovered yet apart from you, children, but certain Pokémon have knowledge of these chambers including the Swords of Justice; this is why I know about the location of these chambers. _

"Why'd you bring us here though?" May asked curiously.

Virizion closed her eyes and spoke, _I need your help and I brought you here because, you see, sometime after the ancient civilization had built these chambers for the trio, the three beings thanked the leader of this society with a beautiful artifact they crafted with each of their powers. It was called the "Reveal Glass"; the object had certain powers from each of the three Pokémon, Thundurus's fierce lightning power, Landorus's ability to grow vegetation, and Tornadus's mighty wind power. However, after some time, the power of the Reveal Glass became so great, it corrupted the leader and he became greedy, ultimately turning on his people and desiring to build a brand new empire with even more power. In the end, the Reveal Glass had been used against its own creators and the leader gained control of the Kami trio, nevertheless, even with his great power, it could not surpass the powerful bond shown between humans and Pokémon when it was time to end the leader's rampage. When the battle had ended, the Kami trio realized its error in the creation of the Reveal Glass and destroyed it with their combined power. The item broke into three pieces, and each member of the trio decided to guard a piece of the broken artifact. The Kami trio then settled into different parts of Unova, never to be seen again. _

"Wow, that's an incredible story," Iris said.

"It's amazing how people can easily become corrupted by power," Cilan added.

"But even with all that power…" May said, trying to put her words together.

"Humans and Pokémon worked together to stop them, just like we are now," Ash finished May's line. The gang nodded in agreement, seeing how Ash's comment made perfect sense. The raven-haired teen looked at his Pikachu, May looked at Victini and Cilan and Iris looked at Axew, the bonds between the two residents of the earth have always been a significant factor in history.

Virizion smiled, satisfied that the humans had captured the message behind the ancient legend. As they made many left, rights in the maze hall, Virizion's eyes became an intense glare, _However, that isn't the end of the story. What no one was aware of was that the Kami trio disappeared into the chambers the civilization had built for them. They locked themselves away and remained hidden from the human world forever, which is why they faded away into legend, but when the three members went into hiding, they also took the pieces of the Reveal Glass and kept them inside their chambers with them. The memory you were shown earlier showed you those evil humans capturing Pokémon, but that wasn't all they came for. _

That's when Ash and the others' eyes became wide and May said, "You don't mean that they…"

_I'm afraid so, those people were here because they had become aware that of the chambers of the Kami trio lied around this area. They didn't know exactly where but they looked under every rock they could, nonetheless, they didn't have the knowledge as to where its exact location was, but they will return here again and they will search for the chamber once more. I fear that their knowledge on the whereabouts of the Kami trio and the Reveal Glass is growing though and if things continue like this, they will get their hands on the power of the Kami trio and the Reveal Glass. The reason why I need your help is because I need you to help me retrieve the piece of the Reveal Glass from Tornadus and stop Team Plasma or Team Rocket from taking it, _the Grassland Pokémon finally cleared about the whole mystery behind their mission.

"Normally I'd be afraid of being in these kinds of situations, but we're doing it to protect the Pokémon so we have to," May responded, not frightened at all by the task at hand.

"That's right; we can't let anymore Pokémon suffer like this. By stopping Team Rocket or Team Plasma from controlling the Kami trio, we'll save a lot of Pokémon and people," Ash grinned confidently, ready to play the hero.

"Pikapi pikachu," Pikachu mimicked his friend.

"Victini vi tini," Victini also stood ready to save its kind with May and Ash.

"I agree with Ash and May, but Virizion, if you said Tornadus is really strong and it is already protecting one of the pieces, then why would you want to take the piece away from its protector?" Iris inquired.

Virizion sighed and replied, _that's very true, but the last time the Kami trio got entrusted with something, they ended up giving godly power to a human who almost ended up destroying Unova. The Kami trio is a noble group of Pokémon, but their carelessness will most likely bring up another crisis and history shall repeat itself. They will get outsmarted once again and evil humans will have their power under their possession. _

"There's still another unanswered question though," Cilan began to speak and everyone looked at it him, "If the Reveal Glass has already been broken, then how will Ghetsis, Giovanni, Colress, or Omega get their hands on the power of the Kami trio?"

_Broken things can always be repaired, that's the case with the Reveal Glass, Cilan. The Reveal Glass may be broken, but it can be fixed if any Legendary Pokémon's power is used to repair it, the Kami trio isn't necessary for that part. A Pokémon like Victini is enough to fix the Reveal Glass when the pieces are gathered, which a reason why they would want to obtain a Legendary Pokémon. I'm fearful if those men obtain the Reveal Glass and a Legendary Pokémon, they will bring chaos to this region like long ago. The fact that a Legendary Pokémon can fix the Reveal Glass is one of the reasons why I have been worried for Victini's well-being, _the Fighting-type explained, looking at Victini when it expressed its concern for it.

The gang nodded, understanding why Virizion would have a reason to worry and could already think of the horrific consequences if the bad guys got their hands on that kind of power. _What worries me more deeply though, is the dark phenomenon hovering over Castelia that day, it was a legendary power, but whether it was on anyone's side or just a rogue rebellious force remains unknown to me. What if that Pokémon is on the Majestic 12's side though, what are they doing if they already have that kind of power with them. _Virizion thought to herself and became anxious, desperate for answers, because in her mind after everything she's investigated, the pieces of the puzzle still didn't connect; there was still a major missing detail.

As they continued to make multiple turns, Ash asked yet another question, "Virizion, this place is a maze, so how do you know we're going the right way?"

_To begin with, the ancient people built this place in this style because it would prevent thieves from locating the treasure-filled chamber if they ever managed to find the entrance. The maze is so complicated, if you don't have any knowledge on how to get around, you'll end up dying here. However, I know the correct path to get to the chamber because I can sense Tornadus's power and the direction to him; if we tried to leave I can do the same by sensing the energies of the outside world. Only a few clever people have been able to identify the way around this maze, those people are the leaders of Team Neo Plasma, Team Rocket, and the Majestic 12, I learned that when I heard the grunts talking about a map leading to the chamber but no data on the exact location. How they managed to get such knowledge is beyond me, but it just gives me a larger reason to fear those people, they are cleverer than any other human I've had to deal with, _Virizion commented, with dread in her tone.

"That's awful," May said with terror in her voice, in response to what Virizion mentioned.

"We're clearly not dealing with knowledge foes, it leaves a very bitter to sour feeling in the mind," Cilan frowned, also fearing the amount of power and knowledge the evil men had demonstrated up until now.

Ash clenched his fists and frowned as he thought about the men responsible for the havoc across Unova, _they have to be stopped. _

Suddenly, their walking came to a halt when Virizion stopped. "Why'd we stop?" May asked, looking around the hallway to see if Virizion had spotted anything that might've caused them to halt.

_Here, _Virizion said and faced a wall with a large tornado carving on the stone. _Tornadus is behind this wall. _

"That's the entrance of the chamber, I thought it'd be something with a little more magnificence," Iris raised an eyebrow.

_That would just give off the chamber's location, the ancient people were being smart when they built it, now I need you all to step back one more, _Virizion stated.

The gang nodded and walked backwards while Virizion got in the same position as earlier. This time though, she lunged herself at the wall and slashed the entrance with all her might. Like before, the Grassland Pokémon left a large slash and the door of chamber crumbled, revealing a dark room inside.

_Be cautious, as I said Tornadus is a very aggressive Pokémon, _Virizion informed them and slowly walked in with the gang close behind.

The four of them and their Pokémon could feel a sense of slight nervousness grow inside as they walked into the pitch black room. "How will we see now?" May whispered.

Virizion looked back at them and said, _Victini, please light this room up with your fire. _

"Tini," Victini whispered and charged up a fire ball in its mouth, the Pokémon then blasted out a stream of fire that lit up the entire room. The torches caught on fire and illuminated the room with Victini's bright fire.

"Whoa!" the gang said in shock when they saw the room. The walls were made of pure gold and large piles of gold items from goblets to coins lied everywhere, it was a room fit for King Midas.

"Everything is made of gold," Iris looked around the room with amazement.

"But look over there," Cilan pointed.

The gang's attention focused their vision to the end of the long room and there they saw Tornadus hovering over a golden seat. It appeared to be sleeping because its eyes were shut. "That's Tornadus?" Ash's eyes couldn't believe as he looked at the green and purple colored muscular Pokémon with a cloud underneath its abdomen. It had two devilish horns, white-colored hair, purple spots, and a long curled purple tail.

"Well it does live up to its status as a Legendary Pokémon," May scratched her cheek with her finger and laughed nervously.

_Tornadus, your slumber ends today, Unova calls for your assistance once more in a new rising threat! _Virizion yelled at it.

All of a sudden, Tornadus opened its left eye and revealed the scary yellow color in his eye. Its gaze detected Ash, May, and the others, causing them to quickly step back a little in fear while laughing nervously.

With its arms crossed, it lifted its head and glared at the humans and their Pokémon. Its gaze then turned to Virizion and it spoke with a very gruff voice, _Must you disturb my sleep to merely inform me of that? _

"Hey, it can talk telepathically too," Iris pointed out while still keeping her distance from the Cyclone Pokémon.

_I'm not a reporter; you know very well why I have told you that, you know what I have requested from you, _Virizion frowned.

Tornadus chuckled, _so you finally pity the humans after the grudge you and the rest of the Swords of Justice held against them centuries ago. _

_ You know I do it more for the Pokémon than anyone else, _Virizion replied with a stern voice.

_As critical as the situation appears to be, you know my only task on this planet is to guard the Reveal Glass from any renegade human who wishes to betray all life. I abandoned my duty as Unova's wind guardian when my powers almost brought an end to this region, _Tornadus glared at Ash and the gang again when he spoke.

_It's no longer safe here for you or the Reveal Glass, Tornadus. They'll find this chamber soon and they'll take that which gives them power, _Virizion stated, _If you refuse to take action in the crisis, then hand over te Reveal Glass to more responsible beings. _

_ Like the Swords of Justice? No, this duty is mine and mine alone, _Tornadus frowned angrily.

"Not a very nice Pokémon is he?" Cilan said nervously.

"We'll have to be prepared for anything," Ash gulped away his fear and frowned at Tornadus.

May, Victini, Pikachu, Iris, Cilan, and Axew followed behind Ash and stood their ground,_ I apologize Tornadus, but if you refuse to cooperate then this mission will have to be done through force_, Virizion sighed.

Tornadus chuckled once again and responded, _just because you have a pipsqueak Legendary Pokémon and children to assist you doesn't mean you'll accomplish what you came here for. Besides, my type advantage over you doesn't favor you very much; being half Grass-type and half Fighting-type isn't very good when you challenge a Flying-type. _He then flew up higher and provoked strong winds to pass in the room.

The wind was so strong it pushed the teens back a bit while they covered their eyes with their arms. "Well, now we know exactly why Virizion needs our help," Ash stated while protecting his eyes with his arm.

Virizion stood her ground and glared at her opponent. May then dared to take peek from behind her arm and spotted a piece of the Reveal Glass on a pole sitting on the head of the golden seat, "Guys I see the Reveal Glass!" the brunette yelled.

"That's a start," Cilan said he tried to resist the wind by stiffening.

Pikachu, Victini, and Axew held on to their respective partners as the wind blew until it abruptly ended. Tornadus smirked as the teens and the Pokémon looked at him once again, _let the battle begin, _the Cyclone Pokémon declared.

_Get out your most reliable Pokémon! _Virizion shouted.

The teens obeyed and got out their most dependable Pokémon, with the exception of Ash and Iris. "Blaziken, we need your help!" May threw her Pokéball.

"Pansage, come out!" Cilan flung his Pokéball into the air.

The gang of four Pokémon then lined up together to face the Legendary Pokémon with Virizion right behind them.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken got fired up when it sensed the power of his opponent, making the flames on its wrists intensify.

"Pikaaaa," Pikachu got on all fours and emitted sparks from its cheeks.

"Axew!" Axew glared at Tornadus.

"Pan!" Pansage also frowned at Tornadus.

_Go! _Virizion commanded and multiplied into ten of herself using Double Team. The Virizion copies then used Sacred Sword and used the attack like a projectile. The sickle-shaped Sacred Swords all aimed at Tornadus like missiles, but the Flying-type remained calm.

_This is real legendary power! _Tornadus exclaimed and clapped its hands, unleashing Air Slash. The disc-like attack clashed with the Sacred Sword barrage and easily canceled it out.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"Pikaaaachuuu!" Pikachu jumped into the air and swung its tail, releasing Electro Ball.

"Blaziken, let's add more power to Electro Ball with Fire Spin!" May instructed.

"Blaze!" Blaziken used the spiral fire move.

Ash and May smiled at it each other while Fire Spin enveloped Electro Ball and the two attacks charged together at Tornadus. _You're wasting your time! _Tornadus yelled and extended its arm out to release Dark Pulse in order to counter it.

"Axew, stop Dark Pulse from canceling out that combination attack with Dragon Rage!" Iris ordered.

"Pansage, you get in there too with Bullet Seed!" Cilan demanded.

"Aaaxeeew!" Axew released the dragon move like a lightning bolt.

"Pansage!" Pansage spit out Bullet Seed with great speed.

The double attack got between Dark Pulse and the Electro Spin before they could clash, canceling out Tornadus's attack. Electro Spin then blasted all the way and hit Tornadus head on, causing an explosion where Tornadus hovered.

"Victini!" Ash and May said simultaneously.

Victini braced itself when it heard Ash and May say its name.

"Use Searing Shot!" they finished their command.

"Tiiiiiiiiniiiiiii!" Victini cried out as it charged up fire and released the fiery spinning meteor. The attack hit Tornadus's position with full force, but the string of attacks didn't finish yet.

_My turn! _Virizion became a single being again and leaped into the air. The Grassland Pokémon then charged a powerful red Hyper Beam. Hyper Beam shot where Tornadus had been and caused an even greater explosion that provoked a strong wind in the room, causing coins to fly everywhere.

Virizion landed next to the Pokémon as they waited for the cloud of smoke to clear up. "Vi," Victini tried to see in what condition Tornadus was in after such a hit, but the smoke was too deep.

_Grrruuuuuuh! _Tornadus roared angrily as it blew out the smoke. The Cyclone Pokémon was covered in wounds and burn marks, but he still seemed full of energy. It glared angrily at all of them and said _that actually stung, I'm going to inflict the same wrath on you tenfold! _

Tornadus's tail began to glow white and it swung its tail, releasing multiple white crescent-shaped energy blades from its tail at the opponent. The blades shot out at a rapid pace and hit all of the Pokémon and the gang. When the energy blades hit them, they exploded and caused a powerful wind to come from the impact.

Virizion got slammed against the wall and dropped to the ground while the others crashed against the floor. As they groaned in pain, Ash slowly got up, "That's some power," he stated.

"What are we going to do now?" May lifted herself up while groaning.

Virizion slowly got up, having suffered the most damage and moaned in heavy pain, she spotted the piece of the Reveal Glass and spoke, _Tornadus is going to defeat us before we defeat it. We barely left him harmed. _

Tornadus smirked as the others got up and became saddened by their results. "Blaze," Blaziken groaned as it tried to stand up.

"Pika," Pika let out a deep breath as it got up.

"Paaan," Pansage moaned.

"Axew ew," Axew shut its eyes from the pain it felt as it got up.

"Vi," Victini slowly began to hover again.

"We need to come up with something," Cilan gritted his teeth as it got up.

"At this rate it's hopeless," Iris said as it lifted herself up.

Virizion looked in front of them and saw the Reveal Glass, _Ash, May, Victini; we're going to lose if we just battle it. Iris, Cilan, the Pokémon, and I will distract Tornadus for as long as possible so you may get the Reveal Glass, but you have to hurry. Am I making myself clear to all of you? _

They all nodded while Tornadus waited for them to make the next move. _If you won't make the next move, I will! _The wind Pokémon shouted then raised its arms and let out a powerful wind that released Air Cutter.

"Blaziken, counter with Flamethrower!" May countered.

"Pikachu, you use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Axew, Dragon Rage!" Iris ordered.

"Pansage, Bullet Seed!" Cilan demanded.

"Victini!" Victini used Flamethrower this time.

_Energy Ball! _Virizion exclaimed and shot out Energy Ball from its jaw.

All the Pokémon countered the barrage of Air Cutter and produced a massive cloud smoke that covered up a major chunk of the room. "May, let's move now, Victini, you too," Ash told them.

"Right," May nodded and dashed right behind Ash with Victini.

The trio rushed as fast as possible to the other end of the room before Tornadus could stop them. They began to sweat from the intensity, but they successfully made it to the other side and Ash snatched the piece of the Reveal Glass from the head of the seat.

_Good they have it, _Virizion grinned. _All of you attack once more! _Virizion commanded.

"Pikaaaachuuuu!" Pikachu used Thunderbolt.

"Blaziiikeen!" Blaziken unleashed Flamethrower.

"Paaaansaaaage!" Pansage fired Bullet Seed.

"Aaaaaxeeeew!" Axew released Dragon Rage.

Virizion then jumped into the air and used Sacred Sword. The combination of five attacks charged into the cloud of smoke, but Tornadus yelled _enough! _All of a sudden, Hurricane blasted out of the cloud of smoke and canceled out the barrage of attacks. The impact caused wind to come out and blew away all of the smoke.

"That's not good," May stated just as the trio prepared to get back to the other side of room.

Tornadus turned to Ash, May, and Victini, _I won't let you take the Reveal Glass, I won't! _With that, Tornadus shot out Dark Pulse.

Ash and May grinded their teeth and threw one more Pokéball. "Tranquil, stop Dark Pulse with Air Cutter!" Ash commanded.

"Liepard, you counter with Dark Pulse!" May instructed.

Liepard and Tranquil came out of the Pokéballs and without wasting a moment, used their attacks to hold the superior attack. "Victini, catch!" Ash threw the piece of the Reveal Glass to the Victory Pokémon.

"Tini?" Victini caught it, but was unsure of what to do.

"Victini, you have to get across the room quick, we'll hold Tornadus," Ash said with a stressed gaze.

"Hurry, Victini!" May ordered the Fire-type.

"Vi…" Victini looked at them with a concern, worrying for the pair's well-being, but Ash and May only smiled at it.

Victini nodded sternly and flew off to the other side. Tornadus prepared to turn its attention to Victini until Virizion spoke again, _once more for Victini!_

"All of you give it your full power!" Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan ordered all of the Pokémon at the same time.

Blaziken, Pikachu, Axew, Pansage, Liepard, Tranquil, and Virizion combined their most powerful attacks to hold back Tornadus, including attacks like Overheat, Thunder, and Hyper Beam.

_No! _Tornadus tried one more time to fight back with Hurricane, but not even the powerful legendary could hold back such a series of powerful attacks and groaned in pain when the moves made impact.

"Tini…victini…vi," Victini panted while dodging any collapsing rock from the ceiling or any stray attack from Hurricane, as it jetted off to the other side like a rocket, swerving from left to right.

The blast from Pokémon produced another large cloud of smoke in the room and they successfully bought Victini enough time to get across the room safely.

_We have to get out of here now! _Virizion instructed and dashed to the entrance of the room as Iris, Cilan, and the Pokémon ran out. Ash, May, Tranquil, and Liepard followed close behind and dashed out in full speed. When everyone had exited hurriedly, Virizion fired an Energy Ball at Tornadus's position and leaped out of the room.

_Quick return all of your Pokémon, and get on my back, _Virizion gritted its teeth after instructing quickly.

"Virizion, won't we be too heavy for you?" Iris asked the Grass-type with a worried look.

Suddenly, the sound of Tornadus's roar echoed through the room and they could feel the ground shake. _There's no time for that, now hurry! _Virizion ordered with a stressed tone.

They all obeyed and returned Blaziken, Pansage, Tranquil, and Liepard. Cilan, Iris, and Axew then quickly jumped on Virizion's back while Victini handed Ash the Reveal Glass, "Victini tini," the Victory Pokémon smiled.

"Good job Victini," Ash received it and smiled.

"You did great," May added and also beamed at the Fire-type.

"Pika!" Pikachu also cheered for Victini.

_Quickly, we'll save the compliments for later! _Virizion shouted and the group of four quickly got on Virizion.

Once they all got on, Virizion hastened away while Tornadus burst out of the wall just a few seconds later. _Come back! _Tornadus screamed and flew off after them.

"Here it comes," Ash glared at the approaching Tornadus.

"Pika," Pikachu also frowned at the Flying-type.

_Victini, Pikachu, use any remaining power you have to push back Tornadus, _Virizion commanded as it ran as fast as possible, sweating and ignoring the weight it felt on its back, luckily it had a strong enough build to keep going.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded and leaped off Ash's shoulder and stood on Virizion's rear.

"Vi!" Victini jumped off May's shoulder and stood next to Pikachu.

The two looked at each other and smiled confidently, "Pika!" Pikachu shook its head. They then glared at Tornadus and Pikachu began to charge electricity, "Piiiiikaaaachuuuu!" Pikachu cried out once it let out a Thunderbolt.

"Victiniiii!" Victini used Flamethrower once more.

The two attacks hit Tornadus head on and pushed the Cyclone Pokémon back, _you won't win so easily! _Tornadus got its composure and used Air Slash.

"Virizion watch out, it's using Air Slash!" Ash yelled at Virizion from the back.

"Pikachu, Victini, counter the Air Slash with any move you can use!" May instructed.

The two Pokémon obeyed and destroyed any incoming disc-shaped attacks while Virizion narrowly dodged a free by swerving. "Virizion, how much longer till we get out of here!" Iris yelled.

_At the rate I'm going, just a couple of more seconds, _Virizion responded as it turned left and right, accelerating as much as it could.

"The problem is how we're going to get Tornadus off our tails," Cilan gritted his teeth, looking with Iris and Axew back at Ash, May, Pikachu and Victini pushing Tornadus back as best as they could.

Pikachu and Victini began panting as they were now running out of energy, not able to push Tornadus back for much longer. "Ash, now what?" May became worried as they Tornadus rushing up to them.

Ash grinded his teeth and looked around desperately, until his gaze focused on two things, Victini and the ceiling, "I've got it!" Ash yelled with joy.

"What is Ash?" May asked with hope returning inside her.

"Victini, use any victory energy you have left inside you and give some to Pikachu so that they both of you may have enough power to stop Tornadus. Then the two of you use your strongest attacks on the ceiling when I tell you to," Ash instructed them.

"Pi!" Pikachu obeyed.

"Vi!" Victini nodded.

Victini then closed its eyes and began to glow pale red, the aura enveloping Victini quickly became thicker and a stream of pale red energy passed over to Pikachu, making the mouse glow like Victini.

_It's ooooveeeeer! _Tornadus yelled and accelerated.

"Look, the exit!" Iris pointed at the bright light ahead.

"We're so close, but Tornadus is still behind us," Cilan looked back, but then gasped when he saw Pikachu and Victini.

"Axew?" Axew also noticed when it looked back.

Virizion could sense what was going on back there and smirked, _Ash, you're a genius. _

"Quick Victini!" Ash ordered.

"Tini!" Victini yelled and opened its eyes, he and Pikachu continued to glow pale red, but both Pokémon now shared the substantial amount of power to finish Tornadus.

"Ash, do it, fast!" May yelled when she saw Tornadus just a few feet away.

Ash looked at the ceiling above him and calculated the distance between them and Tornadus. Tornadus's furious yellow eyes could be seen trying to reach for him, but Ash stood his ground and smiled confidently, when he felt the moment and calculation were right, he exclaimed, "Now!"

"Piiiiiikaaaaachuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashed the most powerful Thunder any of them had ever witnessed.

"Viiiiiictiiiiiiniiiiii!" Victini released Searing Shot once more.

The two super attacks were directed at the ceiling and when they made impact, the ceiling became unstable. At that sudden moment, the rocks dropped in hundreds on Tornadus, _Stooooop! _Tornadus yelled as the boulders fell and crushed it.

"Virizion speed us out of here," Cilan smiled when he saw the result.

Virizion nodded and used Giga Impact to dash out of the secret location. When they shot out of there, the rocks dropped back on the entrance and covered it completely.

Virizion then landed on the ground and dropped, panting heavily while the kids did as well, the excitement from the chase having wiped them out. "Well…we…did it," Ash panted and laughed as he looked up at the sky in front of him when he dropped on the grass.

"It's…done," May smiled while panting.

"Here's…the…thing," Ash chuckled and pushed the piece of the Reveal Glass through the short thin grass over to Virizion.

_Well…done…all of you, _Virizion breathed in and out, but grinned.

* * *

Standing underneath the sunset, Virizion smiled at the gang as they prepared to part ways once more. _Thank you for all your help, this wouldn't have been possible without any of you or your Pokémon, _the Grassland Pokémon thanked the gang.

"We're always happy to help you Virizion," Iris responded happily.

"It certainly serves as a sweet and memorable experience," Cilan grinned, calling it a nice memory despite the trouble they got into.

"Of course, none of us could have done without this little guy," Ash placed his hand on Victini and petted it.

"Victini tini," Victini grinned happily as it hovered.

"We're so proud of you Victini, you just get stronger every day," May said sweetly and hugged the little one.

"Yeah, you saved the day once again," Ash also joined in the small hug; the couple hugged the Victory Pokémon from behind, making a cute scene.

"Pikachupi," Pikachu smiled at the sight from Ash's shoulder.

"It's the Victory Pokémon for a reason," Cilan said and chuckled.

"Ax axew ew," Axew smiled with joy, agreeing with Cilan.

_Farewell to all of you once again, I'm certain we'll meet again. For now, look out for trouble and take care of yourselves, _Virizion beamed at them and then rushed back into the woods with the Reveal Glass strapped to her back.

"Goodbye Virizion," the gang said simultaneously and they waved goodbye to the member of the Swords of Justice for now.

"We'll be ready to help you out again soon!" Ash yelled and smiled until Virizion was completely out of sight.

**K, long chapter lol, but hope you enjoyed it. This chapter had a pretty dark moment for Pokémon, with the Cinccino seen, but as you read, I clearly avoided the "D" word. So did anyone expect Virizion or even Tornadus? The Reveal Glass and the Kami trio will play an even larger role in the future. Next time they see Virizion though, they'll probably run into the rest of the Swords of Justice, with the exception of Keldeo maybe, that's for later lol. What I liked about this chapter is it connects all the most recent chapters together and explains the reason behind the random acts of aggression on the side of the Pokémon while also emphasizing on just how critical the situation with the villainous organizations is getting. Anyway, May's contest is in the next chapter, so stay tuned. Remember to REVIEW, PM, or anything, and I'll catch you guys later! Btw a few of the upcoming chapters is Advanceshipping so stick around!**


	31. Second Time's a Charm

Chapter 31: Little Talks

"Alright May, you're now registered for tomorrow's contest," Nurse Joy handed May her Unova Contest Pass.

"Great, thanks Nurse Joy," May thanked the nurse and received her pass.

"Good thing we came just in time, Iris and me were able to book the last room in the Pokémon Center," Cilan informed the gang.

"Now that May is registered and we have a room, what should we do now?" Ash put his hands behind his head and began to wonder.

"Well, it's already night so I think we should just stay here," Iris suggested.

"If that's the case, we'll drop off our stuff in the room, and then we can go to the cafeteria and get something to eat," Cilan recommended.

"Sounds good to me," Iris replied with a smile.

"Actually, why don't Iris and you head to the room, Ash and I will make a few calls. We'll meet up at the cafeteria," May said to Cilan.

"That's right, it's been a while since I called home," Ash began to think of when was the last time he called his mom or Professor Oak.

"Victini, are you gonna come with us?" May asked the Pokémon hovering invisibly next to her.

"Tini," Victini responded happily and May took that as a "yes".

"You don't need to ask Victini that twice," Iris grinned sheepishly, even though Victini slowly opened up to Iris, Axew, and Cilan, it still preferred Ash, Pikachu and May's company.

"Guess we'll catch you guys later then," Ash told the Unova pair and walked off with May, Pikachu and Victini to the phones.

* * *

"It's always good to talk you three. Professor, tell my Pokémon I said 'hi'. Take care mom, Professor Oak, Tracey," Ash smiled as he waved goodbye to the trio on the screen.

"Bye, everyone!" May waved goodbye.

"Pikapi pika!" Pikachu did the same as his fellow friends and waved.

Victini was the only who remained shy and just peeked from Ash's lap as everyone said goodbye to each other.

"Will do my boy, you do the same, especially with that Victini under your possession," Professor Oak nodded and grinned.

"Right, we'll be fine professor," Ash responded.

"And remember to change your-," Delia was about to remind Ash, but the boy cut him off.

"Yes mom," Ash sighed and turned red while May giggled with Pikachu.

"So long," Delia, Professor Oak, and Tracey said goodbye simultaneously from Professor Oak's lab. The three continued to wave until the screen turned black.

"That went well," May commented.

"Yeah, I am surprised the professor as calm as he did when we told him about Victini and the trouble we've been through," Ash said to her.

"It's best if they don't know about the 'trouble' thing, the professor and your mom probably think the bad guys we've run into are goofballs like Team Rocket," May said and giggled when she mentioned the Team Rocket trio.

"But the professor did sound serious when he said we have to keep a watchful eye on it," Ash grabbed Victini and held him up like a baby. "I can understand why, you're so small, it's hard to believe something cute like you has so much power," Ash chuckled and smiled at Victini.

"Vi tini," Victini grinned at Ash.

Ash got up and let May sit down while Victini sat down on her lap next. "Ok, I wonder what's up at home," May began to dial the number of her home while Pikachu, Ash, and Victini waited for someone on the screen to pop up.

After a few seconds of beeping, Norman, Max, and Caroline answered together, "Hi May," the family said at the same time with cheery tones.

"Hey everyone, mom dad, Max, how are you?" May received their greeting with a friendly salute.

"Hey you guys," Ash leaned forward to look at the screen as he greeted May's family.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu waved to the family as well.

"Hello, Ash and Pikachu," Norman greeted the pair.

"How have you all been?" Caroline grinned.

"Any new Pokémon?!" Max asked excitedly.

"We've all been doing great, we've made lots of new friends and caught a bunch of Pokémon, we even met this little guy," May looked down and pointed out Victini's presence to the family.

"Whoa, it's the Legendary Pokémon Victini!" Max yelled with surprise.

"May, where did you find such a Pokémon?" Caroline questioned.

"Victini tini," Victini tilted its head in confusion as it tried to understand what the humans were saying.

"It was in trouble and saved it from some people who wanted to catch it," Ash explained to them with much detail.

"Very interesting," Norman thought for a bit about Victini and wondered if there was more to Ash's story then that, but he quickly erased the thought from his mind.

"I can't believe you guys have a Victini traveling with you. I hope I run into a Legendary Pokémon like that on my journey," Max said as he thought about meeting a Jirachi again, or even a Rayquaza.

"Hey Max, don't you start your journey in a few days?" Ash pointed out.

"That's right and I'm going to get a Treecko, then train it to become a Sceptile just like you Ash," Max made a fist and smiled confidently.

"I can't wait till we meet again, for now I wish you best of luck Max," Ash said to the younger boy.

"Same here Max," May winked at Max.

"Pikachu pika pi," Pikachu also wished best of luck to the boy.

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it," Max smiled at them, a tear forming in the corner of his left eye.

"Anyway, I hope all of you are doing alright, May keep on winning those contests and Ash, the same goes for you," Norman smiled at them.

"We can't wait to see the two of you compete," Caroline grinned sweetly.

Ash and May nodded with smiles on their faces. "One more thing you should probably think about is that Victini, take care of it and be careful," Norman spoke sternly, and Ash quickly thought about the same basic thing Professor Oak told them before.

"Right," the pair said simultaneously.

"Well then, bub-bye for now kids," Caroline waved at them.

"It was good to hear from the both of you," Norman waved goodbye.

"Till next time then!" Max happily waved goodbye to his friends.

"See ya!" Ash and May said goodbye as they waved with Pikachu, while Victini just gazed at the family until they disappeared from the screen.

"That's done," May hung up the phone.

Suddenly Ash's stomach began to grumble, the boy smiled sheepishly and said, "Then we should probably go eat something."

May's stomach suddenly grumbled as well and the girl giggled nervously, "I'm right with you."

Victini became invisible again and the gang headed to the cafeteria.

* * *

All of a sudden, Ash and May burped and turned red, "Excuse me," the pair apologized to Iris and Cilan. Iris glared at them with disgust while Cilan grinned awkwardly. Pikachu and an invisible Victini had to suffer from the bad smells since they sat on Ash and May's shoulders respectively, but forgave the trainers for their rudeness.

"Guess battling bad guys and Legendary Pokémon can build up an appetite," Ash looked down at his empty plate that had been filled with food just ten minutes ago.

"I agree," May gazed at her empty plate and smiled shamefacedly, recalling that just ten minutes ago her plate was also mounted with food.

"So, what did your friends and relatives say?" Cilan inquired.

"They were happy that we called, we told them about the adventures we've had and they were also glad about how we were progressing," Ash informed them.

"Did you tell them about Victini?" Iris questioned.

"We actually did, since we figured there would be no harm in telling our loved ones," May told the Unova duo.

Cilan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What did they say about it?"

"They didn't take it with the surprise that we thought, when we told Professor Oak and May's family, they were shocked, but the only thing they told us was to look after it with careful eyes," Ash said with a very plain tone.

"Their expressions were very serious when they said that, but aside from that, they handled it rather well. We told them how we ran into it while stopping the bad guys, but they only told us to be vigilant," May added to what Ash said.

Cilan placed his hand on his chin and said, "It's better off that they reacted the way they did. Although, I'm sure they must be a little concerned about the two of you being around a Pokémon with that kind of power."

"You didn't go into detail about our escapade in Castelia City right?" Iris inquired.

"No, May and I thought it was best to exclude that part, they would be worrying about us if they found out about the kind of trouble we've run into these past weeks," Ash stated.

Cilan and Iris agreed, before eating the last of their salads. All of a sudden, Axew yawned, "Aaaaaaxew!"

Iris then began to yawn and you could notice the drowsiness in the pair's eyes. "Guess we should get our room, it is getting late," Cilan chuckled at Iris and Axew.

"Why don't you guys go ahead? I think I need a bit more of training before snoozing, for the contest tomorrow. Ash, do you care to train with me?" May turned to the raven-haired and suggested to him with a sweet tone.

Ash could never resist May's sweet voice and soft gaze, happily accepting her request, "Sure May."

"If that's the case, then we'll be sleeping in the room, we'll see you guys in the morning," Cilan stood up with Iris.

"Good night," Iris rubbed her eye and smiled as she walked away with Cilan.

"Pika pika," Pikachu spoke to Ash.

"May, would you like to train against Pikachu this time?" Ash asked with a polite smile.

"Sorry to disappoint you Ash, but we're not really going to train," May giggled.

"Huh?" Ash tilted his head in confusion while Pikachu and Victini gazed at her with baffled expressions.

May fluttered her eyes and spoke sweetly, "I'd actually like for us to be alone and you know…..take to the next level," whispering in his ear the last comment.

Ash knew what she meant causing him to flush red, and then gulped, "M-M-May."

The brunette laughed and got up, "Just kidding Ash, when will you get that I'm playing with you."

Ash let out a sigh of relief and said, "So does this mean we're still training?"

May placed her fist underneath her chin and grinned, "Not exactly, to be honest, I only lied to Cilan and Iris, because I wanted us to spend some time together, you know, just us two for the night, with Pikachu and Victini though."

The auburn-eyed smiled and stood up, knowing May wanted to focus on each other for the night since they don't get these opportunities too often, "Sure May that sounds nice."

"Thanks Ashy," May teased him and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, I saw the perfect spot earlier," the girl said and pulled Ash until the boy began to walk alongside her, holding hands like any other couple.

Ash couldn't help but smile at the thought of May being mischievous like this. Whenever the coordinator got playful, he knew it'd be a pleasant moment, because whatever was behind May's mischief always turned out to be a nice idea, sometimes Ash thought it was as nice as being with his Pokémon or as fun as battling.

They walked some meters away from the Pokémon Center until they reached a lone tree in grassy plain. "This is the spot," May smiled and pulled Ash gently as they walked forward.

The pair settled down and Ash sat against the trunk of the tree, which was thick enough for five people to encircle it. Pikachu settled nicely as well and lied down on the grass while Victini sat down next to the mouse. "Ash, do you mind if I sat in your lap?" May asked with a shy tone and blushed a bit.

Ash thought about it for a second, but saw no harm in it and smiled, "Of course May." The black-haired teen positioned his legs appropriately so May could sit on his lap.

"Thank you Ash," May sat down comfortably and placed her head against Ash's chest while holding one of his hands.

The four looked up at the moon silently, enjoying the peaceful night. Ash looked at May and began to speak, "So May, are you ready for your comeback?"

May smiled at him and responded, "I'm ready for anything Ash and it's all thanks to you."

Ash grinned at May's sweet words and squeezed her hand softly as a sign of affection. He then used his other hand to run his fingers through her hair, "But I don't really want to talk about that stuff right now, let's forget about our goals and problems, about badges, ribbons, legends, and bad guys, so we can enjoy the moment."

"Whatever you want May," Ash continued to grin as he ran his fingers through her hair.

The quietness among the four kept on going after that until May said, "You know Ash, I've known you for a long time, we've made friends, but they came and went, but even though we don't say it very often, there's something that the two of us both know."

"We'll be together forever no matter how long, from now until the end of time, we'll be together and you can be sure that forever and a day, that's how long we'll stay," Ash hugged May tightly in his arms and pressed her up against him.

"Together and forever more," May dug her face into Ash's chest adorably.

"We've always gone the extra mile, depending on each other all the while, even in the good and bad times," Ash smiled at the moon as he held May.

While leaning her head on Ash's chest, the girl continued to speak softly, "And you will see, from now until our journey's end, you know that you can always count on me."

"No matter where our destiny leads, I'll be there for you always come through and that you can believe, May…" Ash said sweetly and kissed her head.

Victini, who was no longer visible, had tears in its eyes along with Pikachu and the two smiled at the pair. "Pikachu pi," Pikachu grinned, recalling how much Ash had grown up, from an immature inexperienced dense trainer to best pal, skilled battler, and beloved partner of another friend.

May looked up at Ash and smiled, tears slowly forming in her eyes. Ash grinned and wiped any that streamed down her cheek, May pecked his cheek and they kept cuddling, "We've come a long way since Pallet. You're not completely dense about anymore romance," May spoke weakly because of the tears of joy, but giggled happily.

Ash chuckled and replied, "And you're more tolerant whenever I am dense. Plus, you support anything reckless I tend to do and you even join me," the messy-haired teen smiled at her.

"I support you in everything you do Ash, because I love you and whether you're being rash or dense, I accept it because it's part of who you are. I love every aspect of you Ash Ketchum," May explained with a sweet voice.

"And I love everything about you May, even the little things," Ash looked into May's eyes with his glistening eyes.

"We've even had Pokémon who have helped our bond mature and grow," May eyed Pikachu and Victini, smiling at them.

Pikachu scratched his head and grinned sheepishly, remembering the times he advised Ash on what to do when it came to being romantic while Victini smiled happily. Ash eyed them as well and said, "That's right, you two have done a lot for us and we're grateful about it," flashing them a tender smile.

The two Pokémon then joined Ash and May in the hug, creating a jumble of four happy friends embracing each other sweetly. The two humans then looked into their eyes and felt themselves lose to their emotions, Ash and May grinned before sealing their lips. Victini and Pikachu looked up at them and grinned.

"Pika pikachu pi pika," Pikachu suggested to the Victory Pokémon.

"Vi v tini victini," Victini nodded and they left the pair to do their business, instead going off to play in the grass.

Ash placed his hand on May's cheek while she ran her fingers through his hair. The wind blew softly as May's hair tickled Ash's cheeks while Ash's raven hair moved softly across his forehead.

From a distance, a small Pokémon hovered and smiled at the group in the distance, the gem on its head shining brightly under the moonlight. "Elf," It grinned and dashed away, leaving the gang to their business.

May separated from Ash and spoke warmly, "You think it's time we go to the Pokémon Center?"

Ash nodded sideways, "No, it's better out here," then smiled.

May shook her head in agreement and placed her head on Ash's chest again. The duo then gazed at the full moon until their eyelids became heavy and the pair fell asleep in their arms.

* * *

"Vi v," Victini poked May's nose.

"Pika pi," Pikachu tickled Ash's nose with its tail.

"Huh?" Ash moaned as it slowly opened its eyes.

"Is it time to wake up already?" May groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

"If you want to make it to the contest you have to," a familiar voice said and the pair's blurred vision partly identified two figures.

Ash and May rubbed their eyes until their vision cleared, causing their eyes to widen when they saw who stood in front of them. "I hope you guys didn't do anything you weren't supposed to, after all, you're only kids," Iris teased and smirked at them.

"Ax ew ew," Axew chuckled.

"Wha?!" The couple immediately stood up with their faces red, realizing they had fallen asleep against the tree and it was already morning.

"Well did you? You were out here all aloooone…" Iris continued to tease them.

"No, of course not," May and Ash responded simultaneously while laughing nervously.

"May, you should get moving, the contest starts in an hour," Cilan recommended.

"An hour!" May yelled and quickly dashed off to the Pokémon Center, leaving everyone else behind.

"I probably should go at least brush my teeth too," Ash thought about the time left before the contest and prepared to walk.

"Hold it Ash," Iris pulled Ash by his collar and made him look at them.

"What is it Iris?" Ash asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Ash, we are asking you seriously and you have to answer sincerely, did you do anything you aren't supposed to during the night?" Cilan crossed his arms.

Ash's face turned red and blurted out, "You can't be serious! Of course not, we're only teenagers; we're not even on that level!" The boy then crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Cilan chuckled nervously and spoke, "Alright Ash, we're sorry for being strict with you. It's just, you're both in love and well…you know what teenagers around your age are like."

Ash sighed and smiled sheepishly, "Yeah I get it, I know you two are just making sure we're not doing anything stupid, but trust me, May and I aren't like that. But thanks for looking out for us."

Cilan placed his hands on his waist and smiled, "Well with that settled, we should probably get ready to head over to the where the contest is being held."

Ash, Iris, Victini, and Pikachu, nodded in agreement as they stood in front of a bright, early, sunny morning.

* * *

"Welcome one and all to Amor Town's contest! The contestants, judges and I are thrilled to see that all of you could make it here!" Jillian cheered with the local Nurse Joy, Mr. Sukizo, and Mr. Contesta sitting right behind her and the three judges greeted the audience.

"I'm sure all of you are pretty familiar by how things are run in these contests and I honestly can't wait for you to see all the marvelous performances awaiting you today!" Jillian raised her arm.

"I know I can't wait for May's performance," Ash mumbled with Pikachu on his shoulder and the invisible Victini on his lap.

"This is so exciting!" Iris clasped her hands and watched with Axew, excitement filling up inside them.

"This is contest will no doubt give off a wide variety of delicious flavors, the perfect recipe for an outstanding show," Cilan commented.

"First up, we have May who's come here all the way from Hoenn, and a favorite of my relatives in Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto, please welcome, the Princess of Hoenn!" Jillian pointed at the entrance from where May would run out from.

May dashed out and waved happily at the whistling and cheering fans. The sapphire-eyed girl got into position and reached for her Pokéball, "Petilil, take the stage!" the girl threw her Pokémon beautifully.

Petilil somersaulted forward and touched the ground perfectly, greeting the crowd with an adorable smile. "Such an adorable entrance, I can't wait to see what May will have in store for us," Jillian commented.

"Petilil, like we practiced, Magical Leaf Twister!" May yelled.

"Peti," Petilil nodded and began to summon multicolored energy leaves. Within a matter of seconds, the Bulb Pokémon called out a barrage of them, there were so many that they almost reached the ceiling. That's when the magic began to happen and Petilil began to manipulate the Magical Leaf, making them spin in a circular fashion until the Magical Leaf formed a rainbow-colored twister with Petilil in the center of the technique.

Women's hands clasped and men's eyes glistened as they were amazed by the astounding sight. "Petilil, Rainbow Synthesis!" May shouted.

"Petilil!" Petilil maintained the Magical Leaf Twister and from within the technique, the Grass-type began to glow brightly, projecting multiply colors. Synthesis became so bright; its rays passed through the twister and emitted red, purple, green, yellow, orange, blue lights. The move added even more beauty to the multicolored twister than it already had.

Once again, May left everyone in awe. "May's really got this under control," Iris said with a smile.

"A magnificent and tasteful show if I do say so myself," Cilan grinned.

"May's definitely making it to the next round," Ash made a fist of confidence.

"Let's wrap it up with Stun Spore!" May extended her arm to the right.

"Petiliiiiil!" Petilil sprayed out orange sparkles with the remnants of its power. The dazzling orange sparkles created a majestic mix with the other techniques; it gave off a beautiful sparkle that served as the icing on the cake. Before the Stun Spore could shoot out of the opening from the twister like a geyser though, Petilil could longer sustain the amount of power it was exerting and everything came to a sudden halt.

"Petilil!" Petilil gave up and the Magical Leaf became nothing but falling leaves once again. When they touched the ground, they disappeared into dust while Synthesis canceled out and Stun Spore faded away since Petilil failed to use the appropriate amount of power to make it function.

"Uh-oh, folks, looks like Petilil tired out and the gorgeous performance is finished. Judges what do you think?" Jillian raised an eyebrow along with the audience, not expecting something so amazing to end so terribly.

The judges placed in their numbers and on the large screen above them, a "22" got displayed. "While May put on a brilliant performance, that last part deduced my score for her significantly," Raoul Contesta commented.

"Mostly remarkable," Mr. Sukizo stated.

"I did enjoy May's show, I must say, it was careless for her to make Petilil use so much power, without the need for Stun Spore, she could have at least gotten a 24," Nurse Joy was May's most crucial judge for this contest.

"Peti…" Petilil sighed and lowered its head.

May ignored the comments and gave Petilil a warm grin. She kneeled down and placed her hand on its head, "Hey, don't take it so hard Petilil, you did great. Its might fault, I got carried away with the moves, trust me, 22 is still a good score and I'm proud of you."

"Petilil lil?" Petilil inquired.

"Of course we'll train more and you'll perfect that too, just like everything else, but return for now, you've earned yourself a good rest," May reached for her Pokéball.

"Petilil," Petilil smiled and May returned it.

May waved one last time to the audience and left the scene. "Thank you May for your fantastic act, and now our next contestant!" Jillian announced.

"Well May handled that pretty well," Iris commented, not sure how to react with the presentation.

"Although it does leave a bit of bitterness since it ended like that," Cilan crossed his arms.

"I still know 22 is good enough to pass and so does May, right Pikachu, Victini?" Ash smiled confidently at the two Pokémon.

"Pi," Pikachu nodded, smiling.

"Vi," Victini also bobbed its head in agreement while grinning.

As the contest progressed, many other brilliant performances were demonstrated. "Darmanitan, let's show them our phoenix move!" a coordinator ordered his Pokémon in its Zen Mode state.

The Darmanitan emitted a powerful and thick flame that reached the ceiling and with its Psychic powers, manipulated it into the shape of a phoenix. The fire bird screeched proudly as it spread its wing span across the room, its flames burning beautifully and dazzlingly.

The coordinator and his Darmanitan received a 24 and another coordinator used a Steelix. "Steelix, Double Team!" the coordinator commanded and Steelix multiplied into four and stood on each corner of the field. The coordinator made more commands and the copies began to spin, then they fired out Stone Edge, releasing the energy stones against each other. The sparkling stones shot by the four Steelix collided at the middle of the field and formed a brilliant white "X". These performers received a perfect score of 25.

Yet another talented coordinator came onto the stage and used a Shelmet. Shelmet used a combination of Guard Swap and Giga Drain, with the blue and green energy beams from the respective attacks swirling around each other like a code of DNA. The Bug-type shot the combo in four directions and aimed the beams to cross and swirl around each other, creating a spider web of blue and green energy beams, but when the beams finally clashed, everything burst and there was a shower of blue-green sparkles. This trainer and its Pokémon also received a perfect score.

The rest of the first round advanced like this as more and more talented coordinators appeared, scoring 23, 24, and 25. Only a few of them scored 22 and below, among them May. May, however, remained calm and just watched her fellow competitors perform with amazement.

"Cilan, this isn't looking good, more than half of these guys are scoring higher than May," Iris began sweat from nervousness, as did Axew.

"May got tangled with probably the most talented crowd of coordinators I've ever seen. If May hadn't used mess up earlier and didn't make Petilil exert so much power, the judges wouldn't have been so harsh with her score," Cilan watched the contest with concern.

Ash gritted his teeth and clenched his fists while Pikachu and Victini watched with anxiety. _May has to make it, her performance was better than all of these; she just has to get into the second round, _Ash thought to himself.

"Wow, when they said Unova was home to a lot powerful trainers, they weren't kidding," May watched the screen with interest.

When the Appeal Round finally came to a close, it was finally time to announce the coordinators who'd advance to the next round. "And now ladies and gentlemen, after watching so many phenomenal acts, let's see who were the ones who made the cut," Jillian turned to the screen while the audience also focused their eyes on it. Out of all the people in the building, including the coordinators, Ash seemed the most intense about the results.

One by one unfamiliar faces appeared on the screen, none of them were May, and the moment became ever tenser when they reached final spot. The few seconds it took for the person to appear felt like a lifetime as they all watched, Ash and May gazed at the spot intently, both of them sweating a little from the intensity. Suddenly, the beep sound echoed through the stadium and a person appeared, but it wasn't May.

Ash's jaw opened in disbelief and the boy lowered his head, hiding eyes under the brim of his hat. "What?!" Iris yelled in anger, startling the people nearby, but Cilan calmed her down.

"I can feel a very sour taste in my tongue just by looking at that screen," Cilan sighed, sad that his friend didn't get into the next round.

Victini, Pikachu, and Axew also became saddened with the result, especially Victini, who pushed back tears forming in its eyes while Pikachu and Axew patted its back. From the locker room May looked at the screen with hurt eyes and lowered her head, sighing from the result.

"Well, there you have it, like usual, coordinators will have a short break before advancing to the next round, don't go anywhere folks!" Jillian winked at the audience.

* * *

The gang went to the locker room and saw May still facing the screen with the results; she had her back was facing them as they walked over to her. "May…" Ash sadly called out her name, "I'm so sorry about what happened. Even though I don't know much about appeal, I should've focused more on that with you." The boy then placed his hand on her shoulder with his sad gaze still on.

"Tiinii…" Victini spoke sadly while still invisible. The rest of the gang also eyed May with sad eyes, waiting for her to react.

"Ash, Victini, don't be sad. Ash, this has nothing to do with us not training, I messed up because I wasn't careful with what I was doing and I can't always cling on to you for everything, sometimes the errors I make can only be fixed by myself and I plan to do that this time," the sapphire-eyed girl then turned around and had a wide smile on. "So none of you should be sad about the fact that I lost," May said happily.

The look May had on her face surprised all of them, it certainly wasn't the reaction they were expecting. May held Ash's hand and placed her other hand on Victini's head, "May, aren't you a little sad that you lost though?" Ash asked with a confused tone.

May shrugged her shoulders, "It stinks that I lost Ash, but feeling bad about myself won't help me improve. Besides, we can't win them all right? I learned a lot from my last loss, but thanks to these two losses, I feel even stronger than before and ready to take on the next contest," May grinned confidently.

May's attitude amazed the rest of the gang and their spirits also began to rise again. Ash's face formed a smile and felt proud by the way May was handling things, it just showed how much stronger and more mature the brunette was getting every day.

The coordinator squeezed Ash's hand in affection and smiled at all of them, "So don't be sad, because there are still many other opportunities to win and I'll no doubt get it right the next time. There many other competitions going on in Unova and the one Roxas told us about in Flocessy Town, is near this town, so we can head there next."

Ash hugged May and the brunette happily embraced him back, "Our next stop is Flocessy Town," Ash happily declared while May smiled, Victini, Pikachu, Axew, Iris, and Cilan were all joyful to see May being so confident and cheerful about everything, now they were all eager to reach Flocessy Town. May could feel a flame inside her burning stronger than ever, the feeling made her spirit as bright as ever, but she couldn't have learned to be this strong without Ash.

**That's the end of this chapter lol. This chapter is dramatically shorter than the last chapters and I'm glad it was. As you probably noticed, the majority of this chapter served the purpose of exploring Ash and May's relationship some more. I don't know if the next one will be so Advanceshippy but I can assure you chapter 33 will be yet another Advanceshipping chapter. This chapter also changed the pace, the previous action-packed chapters were faster and there was more fighting, I guess this is what I like about this chapter, it may have been slow, but it was a nice change of pace. Anyway, remember to PM, REVIEW, seriously REVIEW, I feel like the reviews are lessening; remember that I like to hear your thoughts and opinions, so if you have the time please REVIEW. Well, till next time!**


	32. Battles in Flocessy Town

Chapter 32: Be An Arrow

"I can't spot that contest stadium anywhere," Ash and Pikachu looked left and right.

"Where could it be?" May and Victini searched everywhere as they walked through the streets of Flocessy Town.

Cilan, Iris, and Axew were also anxious in their search; they were making no progress in locating the contest. The trouble they had spotting the contest stadium began to unease them, especially Ash, who was eager to see May make her big comeback. Minutes passed by as they desperately looked with no luck.

They all stopped and sighed, "What are we going to do now if we can't find the contest building," Iris said with a disappointed tone.

"This is starting to come out with very bland results," Cilan let out a deep breath of disappointment.

Ash, May, and the Pokémon also appeared very distressed, but Ash continued to look around with arms crossed. "May be we can ask someone where the contest is being held?" Ash suggested.

"We could try," May placed her finger on her chin and wondered if it'd work.

"I'll ask that guy," Ash spotted a teen around his age with red-orange hair.

The raven-haired teen rushed over to the person, "Wait up!" Iris yelled and the rest of the gang ran behind him. When Ash got closer to the stranger, he realized how oddly dressed he was and he even had a Pokéball necklace around his neck.

Ash tapped his shoulder so he'd turn around, "Umm excuse me. Do you know where the Flocessy Contest is being held at?"

The teenager turned around with a raised eyebrow, but Ash and the gang were even more shocked when they saw his face. This stranger bore an odd resemblance to Alder, from the Pokéball necklace right down to the hair. May, Iris, Cilan, and Ash all felt the urge to ask if there was any relation between Alder and him, but now wasn't the time for that.

"Contests…you've been misinformed friend, but no contests are held in this town," the wild-haired teen answered.

"What?!" the gang and the Pokémon shouted in surprise.

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint," the teen showed a sign of pity towards them.

May lowered her head and spoke with a saddened tone, "But Roxas told us there was a competition I could compete in here."

"Well there is a competition being held today at noon, I'm not sure if you guys would be interested though," the teenager informed them.

"What kind of competition?" Ash had a baffled expression and so did the others.

"Well, it's a very limited one because of how many competitors show up to participate. The competition is very strenuous with a very short break time, you're not allowed to switch Pokémon in your team once you register and 16 of the best battlers around tend to go against each other to win. The best way I can describe it is an all-out battle, no opportunity for healing your Pokémon, no lunch breaks, nothing, it's a test for battlers to put out all their skill at the maximum level. Not to mention that many people attend this competition yearly just to watch a good show," the teenager gave detail into the competition.

"But it still isn't a contest," May had a disappointed look when she responded.

"What's the prize anyway?" Iris questioned with interest.

"I was going to answer that right now, the reason why so many tough battlers compete is because of the competition's unique prize. You see, it struck a deal with the Pokémon League and Grand Festival officials that allowed them to give a badge or ribbon as prize to the winner. The badge and ribbon are valid for entry in any Pokémon League or Grand Festival around the world," the teen informed them.

"You're kidding!" Ash and May exclaimed because of the revelation.

"Nope, I'm entering the Tao Competition this year to win myself a badge. Although you should keep in mind, you can only choose between the Yin Badge and the Yang Ribbon," the boy told them.

"If this competition is as tough as you say it is and if the prize is a badge, then I'm entering," Ash made a fist and grinned confidently.

"So am I, I'm ready for some tough battling and I'm going to win myself a ribbon," May mimicked Ash and made a fist while smiling confidently, a bright fire heating up inside the two.

The teenager smirked, "Good, I'm looking forward to battling the two of you, both of you appear to be skilled trainers."

"You bet we are," Ash continued smiling confidently at his possible opponent.

"Where is this competition being held though?" Cilan inquired.

"I was heading there right now, if you want you can come with me," the boy told then, "By the way, my name is Benga," Benga finally introduced himself.

"My name is Ash and this is my pal Pikachu," Ash introduced himself and the mouse.

"Pika!" Pikachu greeted the boy.

"I'm May, nice to meet you," May saluted Benga.

"My name's Cilan," Cilan introduced himself to the teen.

"And I'm Iris and this is my friend Axew," Iris introduced herself and Axew.

"Ax ew axew," Axew waved hello to Benga.

Victini was forced to stay quiet while sitting on May's shoulder, the Victory Pokémon knew Benga was still a stranger and they weren't sure if they could trust him yet. For now, the Fire-type just gazed at the trainer with interest.

"We'd be happy to go with you," Ash accepted Benga's invitation.

"Great, follow me," Benga led the way as they walked through the humble streets of Flocessy Town, realizing not too many people were around.

"This place is rather empty, isn't Cilan?" Iris commented.

"Everyone must be at the competition," Cilan replied.

Meanwhile, Ash and May had another thing on their mind. May couldn't help but ask Benga what was pondering in her mind and approached him, "Benga, if you don't mind me asking, are you related to Alder, the Champion?"

"Yeah, I was wondering the same too," Ash added his interest in the conversation. Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Victini, and Axew also listened for Benga's answer; they had all been wondering the same as well.

"Yeah, Alder is my gramps, that makes me his grandkid," Benga chuckled, expecting the gang to ask him that eventually.

"We thought as much," Iris had her suspicion finally confirmed.

"The resemblance is almost identical," Cilan stated.

"By the way, your grandpa wanted to tell you that he says 'hi', we ran into him at Virbank City," Ash remembered the favor they accepted from Alder.

Benga smiled, "That's nice, I hardly ever hear from gramps and rarely see him. As the champ he's always busy with responsibilities, but whenever I do see him, he trains with me. One day I hope to be as strong as him."

"That's a great goal, you'd be carrying down a tradition if you become champion," May pointed out.

The boy nodded, "I hope so." His gaze then turned to Cilan and Iris, who walked on his left side, "You know, I was thinking, you two should enter in the competition as well. Cilan, I know you're a gym leader so that'd make it interesting and Iris, I've heard rumors that we once trained under Drayden."

Iris and Cilan raised their eyebrows, they wondered about it for a minute until Ash stepped in, "Yeah, both of you would definitely make great opponents! I'd love to see just how strong the two of you have really gotten throughout our journey."

"It'd be a nice change of pace if you guys join us in the battling too, I feel like Ash and I get a little bit too much of the action at times," May insisted further.

"Pikapikachu," Pikachu added.

Victini wanted to join in the encouragement, but with the circumstances, that didn't seem likely. "Axew ew ax," Axew told Iris with confidence.

Iris looked at Axew and then turned to Ash and May with a confident smile, "Alright, we'll enter; Axew and I will enjoy this one."

"Count me in as well, it's been some time since I've had a real battle," Cilan agreed to sign up as well.

"Great, now that makes five who'll compete, I can't wait to battle against all those strong trainers," Ash spoke with confidence.

"I know winning that ribbon won't be easy with you guys competing, but I'll go all-out like if it were a contest," May commented, eager for a victory.

"Here, we are," Benga stopped and they stood in front of a large building that looked like a gray-colored coliseum with some large banners with the Tao symbol on them.

"It's big," Ash pointed out, analyzing its size.

"It's probably at least ten times the size of a football field," Cilan said with amazement.

"Let's go sign up!" May became eager to compete when she saw how big the building rushed and ran inside after grabbing Ash by the hand and pulling him.

"Slow down May!" Ash yelled and felt himself being pulled energetically by his loveable girlfriend.

"Pika pika," Pikachu held onto Ash's shoulder so he wouldn't fall as they ran.

"Vi v," Victini did the same as Pikachu with May's shoulder as they ran ahead of the gang.

"Are they always like that?" Benga looked at Iris and Cilan with a raised eyebrow.

"Most of the time," Iris sighed and then the group laughed at the couple's antics.

* * *

"All set and ready," Benga turned away from the counter and looked at the gang.

"Good, so I assume we just wait now," Cilan responded.

The teens all nodded, but their attention was suddenly caught by a familiar voice, "Look who it is."

They all turned around and saw Hilbert, Hilda, Bianca, and Trip. "You guys are here too!" Ash screamed with excitement, the action resembling that of a five-year-old and prompted Iris to call him a kid. Even Pikachu sighed at his trainer's attitude, agreeing with Iris on this one.

"It's great to see all of you again, how you been?" May smiled with happiness when she saw the familiar faces.

"We've been great, it's so nice to see Ash and his friends again," Bianca clasped her hands with happiness, focusing her gaze on Ash and May, remembering the last time they met was under terrible circumstances.

"Last time, everyone had given you up for dead," Trip commented with his usual serious voice.

"Except for you Trip," Hilbert sneered at his gray-eyed friend, his comment surprising Ash and May, since they hadn't known that Trip was one of the few who didn't believe they died.

"So, what are guys doing here?" Iris inquired.

"Isn't it obvious?" Trip spoke with a stern tone.

Hilda sighed and spoke, "Lighten up Trip, we're all friends here." She turned to the teens and answered, "We're here to compete too."

"Yep, Professor Juniper informed the four of us about the competition here so she recommended we come compete. She even guaranteed that you guys would all be here too, plus, she gave Bianca the day off to compete with us too," Hilbert explained to the Ash's gang.

"And I can't to compete against all of you; it's been so long since I've battled!" Bianca spoke enthusiastically.

"We can't wait to compete against all of you; this is going to be fun!" Ash made a fist of enthusiasm.

"By the way, this is our friend Benga, you might know him as Alder's grandson," Iris introduced their new friend.

"Hey there," Benga waved coolly at them.

"No way, you're related to the champ!" Hilda shouted with astonish.

"It's nice to meet you, Benga," Bianca greeted the champion's grandkid.

"I look forward to competing against you Benga," Hilbert shook hands with the wild-haired teen.

"So do I," Benga smiled at Hilbert.

"As Alder's grandkid, there's no doubt in my mind that you must be a worthy opponent, I also look forward to battling you," Trip beamed at Benga.

"Likewise," Benga grinned at Trip with confidence.

Ash looked at the exchange between Trip and Benga and whispered to May, "Why doesn't Trip act like that whenever we prepare to battle?"

"Because he's a stuck-up jerk," May whispered back and giggled.

Ash chuckled at May's comment, but then spoke, "I hope I get to battle him though, I want to show Trip just how strong I've gotten."

"I'm sure you'll show Trip one way or another how strong you are Ash, trust me," May winked and squeezed his hand in affection.

Pikachu and Victini also showed support for the boy by patting his back for confidence. "Thanks guys," Ash grinned at them.

"There's no question that I'm taking the gold today," Hilbert spoke confidently and stared at the ceiling.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Hilbert, if anyone is getting that badge it's me," Trip sneered at his friend.

"Forget the badge, the ribbon is what I'm after," Hilda blocked Trip's view.

"I'm taking that ribbon with me today," May blocked Hilda's view, smiling confidently.

"If anyone is winning, that'll be me," Ash shushed them up with his cocky tone.

"Guess we're the only ones entering this for the fun of it huh?" Bianca commented as she stood with Iris, Cilan, and Benga, who all embarrassed to see the other five argue like children.

The group continued to babble until something struck Hilda's mind, 'Wait guys, stop, let's cool down, there's something Hilbert and I have to ask Ash and May," the Unova brunette stated.

"What?" the pair asked simultaneously, confusion on their faces.

"I just realized, I haven't seen Victini anywhere, is it still traveling with you guys?" Hilda questioned.

Ash, May, Iris, Pikachu and Cilan's hairs stood up. They wondered if Hilda was aware that there were tons of strangers walking past them and Benga, who probably had no clue about anything, was around.

"Hilda, we can't walk about that now," May tried to be discreet as she spoke through her grinded teeth, looking uneasily at Benga, who had his eyebrows raised.

Benga chuckled and answered, "So you're the two trainers with the Victory Pokémon, my gramps told me about you two and the escapade you had with it. I never expected that it was both of you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash raised an eyebrow, slightly annoyed by Benga's remark.

"Wait, how did you know about this?" Cilan inquired the red-haired boy.

"Being part of the champion's family has its pros when it comes to knowing what happens behind the scenes," his response causing everyone to look at him with raised eyebrows, realizing that the teen was a bit bigheaded. Benga then smiled though, "Don't worry, you can trust me though, I wouldn't harm any Pokémon."

"Well, if that's the case, I guess we can answer what Hilda asked," May assumed.

"Do you still have him with you?" Bianca inquired.

"Yep, Victini, why don't you show them without having to reveal yourself," Ash turned to the Victory Pokémon who sat on May's shoulder.

Ash and May could feel that Victini was looking at the two of them with a feeling of uncertainty. "Don't be shy," May spoke to it sweetly.

"They're friends too," Ash encouraged Victini to approach their other friends. Victini turned to "mama and papa's" other friends, remembering Hilbert, Hilda, but unfamiliar with Bianca or Trip.

"Pikachu pikakachu," Pikachu placed his hand on Victini's shoulder and nodded at the Fire-type.

"Ti," Victini bobbed its head and flew to the others. Victini began to playfully tap Hilda, Hilbert, Trip and Bianca's shoulders, and then it started to lift Hilda's hair, "Tini victini," the Pokémon said with a friendly tone.

"Victini's not as shy as I remember, you've been training him so he'd open up to others," Hilbert commented.

"That's right," May and Ash answered simultaneously, smiling, proud of their little one.

From a distance, a figure in a brown cloak watched at the gang with interest. Suddenly, the announcer spoke, "Attention, contestants must appear the lounge in fifteen minutes in order to be informed of the match-up results, thank you." The figure and the gang then began to make their way to the lounge.

* * *

"Welcome, fellow competitors, I'm excited to be here with you today and serve as host for this year's Tao Competition," a Don George revealed himself to the competitors.

"Guess this Don George must be related to the one from Luxuria Town too," May said.

"I bet, I wonder how many other families have identical relatives," Ash wondered and then thought about a family of many Ash, the image making him chuckle.

Don George continued to speak, "The match ups are in, and before you are the results!" the moustache man pointed the screen behind him.

There was a beeping sound and suddenly, the black screen revealed a chart with the match ups. Hilbert, Hilda, and Bianca's eyes widened when they saw the screen. From left to right, the order of the matches was shown. The first match would be between Trip and Benga, and the two trainers smirked at each other when they noticed the result. Following them was Hilda and Hilbert, who couldn't believe they were set to battle against each other in the first round. Then would come Bianca's battle against Cilan, while Bianca seemed a bit nervous, Cilan merely smiled at her. After them was Iris going up against a guy named Jimmy Ray, and then Ash versus a man named Natural, but his profile picture was merely him with a brown hood on. Next was May versus a guy by the name of Dino. The other matches were a bunch of strangers who they weren't familiar with.

"The first competitors must present themselves in a few minutes, that will be it for now," Don George stated and then left.

Once he left, the gang eyed their opponents; May looked at her opponent and got annoyed when she saw the man winking at her. The brunette quickly turned her back against him and walked away with a "Humph, men."

Iris didn't care much for her opponent and just prepared herself with Axew, "We're going to win it, aren't we Axew?"

"Ew ew ax," Axew nodded.

Ash decided to approach his opponent, who leaned against the wall in the corner of the room. The raven-haired teen ignored the fact that he wore a cloak and greeted him, "Looks like we're going to be battling against each other. Let's make it a good one," Ash smiled at him.

Natural took a good look at Ash and walked away, leaving Ash without a response. Ash appeared confused and mumbled, "What's his problem?"

"Pika…" Pikachu felt he's seen the man somewhere before.

"I'm not very fond of my competitor either, one glance and he was already hitting on me," May approached Ash and Pikachu with the invisible Victini.

"My opponent wouldn't even talk to me," Ash said slightly annoyed.

"Looks like we'll have to teach them a lesson in the first round," May giggled.

"I'm right with you, there's no way we intend to lose," Ash spoke confidently.

"That's right," May replied with the same tone.

"We should be heading to our seats now, the first match is starting," Ash suggested.

"Let's go then," May grabbed Ash's hand, but unlike last time, she didn't pull him and they walked away happily and eagerly.

* * *

"Chandelure, time for battle!" Trip called out his Pokémon.

"Chand," the Ghost-type Pokémon presented itself.

"Looks like Trip's Lampent evolved, I wonder how strong it's gotten," Ash watched in the front row seat with the rest of his friends.

"Larvesta, let's play!" Benga threw his Pokéball.

"Laaaar," the Bug-type appeared.

"Who's that Pokémon?" May questioned and took out her Pokédex.

"Larvesta, the Torch Pokémon. A Larvesta shoots fire from its five horns to repel its enemies. They live at the base of volcanoes," the Pokédex informed.

"You're already at a disadvantage," Trip smirked.

"That's what you think," Benga smirked back, "Larvesta, Flame Wheel!"

"Chandelure, stand your ground," Trip remained calm.

"Why'd Benga decide to use a Fire-type move on a Fire Pokémon if it'll have no effect?" Iris questioned.

Cilan crossed his arms and spoke, "The attack is too useless against Chandelure, especially if its ability is Flash Fire. Benga might have something else in store."

Larvesta curled up and charged into a flaming wheel towards Chandelure while Trip did nothing. "Jump!" Benga commanded and the Flame Wheel shot upward at Chandelure. "Now, Acrobatics!" Benga ordered.

"What?" Trip gasped at his mistake.

"Looks like you were right Cilan," Hilda commented.

"Smart move by Benga," Hilbert smiled in admiration.

"Chandelure, dodge!" Trip shouted, but it was too late. Larvesta canceled out its Flame Wheel and charged full speed at Chandelure, landing a heavy hit on the Ghost-type. Larvesta then bashed against Chandelure multiple times with phenomenal pace, leaving behind two afterimages as it bashed against Chandelure with unbelievable force.

"You got too cocky in your ability, that's going to cost you the match," Benga chuckled.

Trip chuckled and spoke, "I'd expect nothing more from the champion's grandson. I can tell you've trained hard with him, but I have my own abilities as well. Chandelure, use Minimize!"

"Chan," Chandelure saw another strike from Larvesta coming at him, but suddenly, the Ghost-type shrunk and Larvesta missed his tiny target. Larvesta's lost control of its trajectory and crashed into the ground, squealing with pain.

"Shadow Ball!" Trip extended his arm forward. Chandelure then launched Shadow Ball and blasted it at a still down Larvesta, causing an explosion and even more dust rising up.

Benga gritted his teeth while the caster spoke, "Folks, we've seen very tactical moves from these two trainers and I must admit I'm impressed."

"Wow, that was some comeback," Bianca mentioned.

"Larvesta, reel in Chandelure with String Shot!" Benga commanded.

"Laaaar!" Larvesta obeyed and shot out the web, grabbing hold of Chandelure from its bottom part.

"Chandelure, stop that little bug with a Shadow Ball!" Trip yelled.

"Lure!" Chandelure released a powerful Shadow Ball.

"Larvesta, when Shadow Ball gets close enough, pull yourself up with the String Shot and use Wild Charge!" Benga instructed.

Larvesta revealed itself among the dust and launched itself towards Chandelure, releasing the String Shot. It aimed towards Shadow Ball and its body became enveloped in electricity.

"Veeesta!" Larvesta bashed against the Shadow Ball head on.

Trip smirked at the impact, believing his attack successfully stopped his opponent. All of a sudden though, he saw Larvesta shoot out from the midair dust cloud and still charging, "Impossible!" Trip gasped.

"Go!" Benga yelled and Larvesta bashed at Chandelure full force, sending it crashing to the ground with sparks coursing its body.

"Chand…lure," the Pokémon lied on the ground with swirl eyes.

Larvesta dropped to the ground with satisfaction, having triumphed against a considerably powerful and skillful opponent. "Chandelure is unable to battle, Larvesta is the winner!" Don George announced.

"There's our first winner of the match everyone, no surprise, that is the champ's grandkid, please applaud for Benga!" the caster declared.

"Chandelure, return!" Trip recalled his Pokémon.

"Larvesta, come back, you did terrific," Benga returned his Pokémon.

Benga looked at Trip and spoke sternly, "You let overconfidence defeat you Trip, but showed a lot of ability and power during our battle. I hope we battle again soon and you're even stronger."

Trip chuckled and responded, "I enjoyed this battle and it's showed me how much I still have to train. Next time I will win though," the gray-eyed teen smiled and walked away.

"Wow, Trip lost," May said in disbelief, not expecting Benga to defeat one of Ash's toughest rivals.

"Like Benga said, if Trip hadn't been so cocky, he most likely would've won" Cilan placed his fist under his chin.

"May be it'll teach him a lesson for being so harsh towards Ash," Iris smiled, happy over the result.

"Trip shouldn't have been so arrogant, from the start he thought he had things under control, he had forgotten who he was battling against," Hilbert sighed in disappointment.

"That's Trip though, our cocky friend as usual," Hilda seemed a bit bummed over the result.

Bianca smiled and spoke, "In Trip's next battle, he'll do better, I'm sure of it."

* * *

"Trip, where are you going to go now?" Ash had been waiting with Pikachu in the lounge for Trip.

"That's no concern of yours," Trip responded as he walked past him to the exit.

"I was really looking forward to battle against you," Ash commented.

"I'd prefer Benga as my opponent any day instead of someone from the boonies. Now if you'll excuse me, I have training and battles to win," Trip said as he exited the room.

Ash frowned and spoke, "That guy get's on my nerves at times."

"Pikapi chu," Pikachu told Ash to drop it.

The auburn-eyed teen smiled and nodded, "You're right pal. I shouldn't let it get to my head. My battle with Trip will come soon and there's no doubt I'll win," he said confidently.

* * *

"Hilda, are you sure you don't want to forfeit? My Zebstrika is stronger than it looks," Hilbert gave her a sly smile.

"No way Hilbert, remember who won last time," Hilda taunted to him while standing behind her Jellicent.

"That will change," Hilbert smirked, _just because I like you doesn't mean I'll let you beat me. _

_I won't let my feelings get between me and victory Hilbert, I just won't. _"Jellicent, use Water Pulse!"

"Zebstrika, counter it with Thunderbolt!" Hilbert extended his arm forward.

"Zeeeeeb!" Zebstrika cried out and released the powerful lightning bolt.

"Jellicent, harden Water Pulse with Icy Wind," Hilda smirked.

"Jeeell," Jellicent blew out a powerful cold wind that froze Water Pulse, creating a large moving ice ball.

The Thunderbolt came into contact with the ice ball, but it had no effect and combination attack hit Zebstrika head on. "Striiiii," Zebstrika cried out in pain as it flew backwards.

"Zebstrika!" Hilbert shouted and gritted his teeth.

"Folks what we just saw was combination attack overpowering Thunderbolt. At first I thought Hilbert had hit the nail, but looks like Hilda is in control now," the caster informed.

"That was an amazing strategy, I would've never expected that," May had her eyes wide while Victini stared at her. He understood that Hilda was her rival, so May did have a reason to be surprised at the strategy.

"Me neither, Hilda is really on her game," Ash commented.

"By turning Water Pulse into an ice ball and the ice serving as armor, a special attack like Thunderbolt would certainly be helpless against that type of defensive maneuver," Benga stated while everyone including Cilan nodded in agreement.

Zebstrika was back on its feet and ready to battle, "Zebstrika, we can still win, use Agility fast!" Hilbert commanded.

"Freeze the field," Hilda smirked.

"Jellicent," the Pokémon obeyed and call up a powerful Blizzard. The Blizzard began to freeze the battlefield in an attempt to stop Zebstrika's movement.

"This isn't good for Hilbert, Zebstrika is going to lose balance," Iris said with nervousness.

"May be not…" Bianca pointed out something odd.

As slippery as ice was, Zebstrika continued to run without losing balance once; it still had control over itself. "No way, how are you doing that?" Hilda's eyes widened.

Hilbert chuckled and spoke, "I've trained Zebstrika to run on slippery grounds, and honestly it's a very predictable tactic when it comes to stopping speedy Pokémon. Now Zebstrika, Wild Spark!"

"Wild Spark?" the gang and Hilda said at the same time. The audience became confused as to what Hilbert met, but they were just about to find out.

"I've learned a bit from your combination attacks and came up with my own, it's a mix of Spark and Wild Charge. Wild Spark should do the damage of a combined Wild Charge and Spark once it hits Jellicent. "Zeeebstriiiiikaaaa!" the zebra-like Pokémon cried out and had blue and yellow electricity coursing through it.

Hilda felt her victory slipped away and ordered one last move as comeback, "Jellicent, stop Zebstrika with Hydro Pump!"

"Jelliiiiiii!" Jellicent unleashed the powerful thick pressurized water attack at Zebstrika.

"Swerve it!" Hilbert commanded. Zebstrika used the ice to its advantage and slid away from harm's way, "Now, full power!" the Unova brunette male instructed.

Zebstrika cried out a neigh and hit Jellicent with all its power. The impact caused a deadly explosion between Jellicent and Zebstrika, with Jellicent flying out of the cloud of smoke and crashing against the wall. "Cent…" the Water-type moaned in an attempt to get up as blue and yellow sparks enveloped it, but the jellyfish-like Pokémon couldn't go any further and dropped.

"Jellicent is no longer able to battle, our winner is Zebstrika!" Don George proclaimed.

"Yet another strategic battle, recovering with great power, Hilbert and Zebstrika used the power of Wild Spark to win the match, extraordinary!" the caster spoke with an excited tone.

"Jellicent, you did great, now get some rest," Hilda returned her Water-type.

"Zebstrika, good job, now relax," Hilbert recalled his Pokémon, who let out a neigh as a victory cheer right before the red beam struck him.

Hilda appeared disappointed over her loss, but Hilbert walked over to her and lifted her head his hand, "You did great Hilda," the boy spoke with a soft tone.

The brunette blushed because of his touch and smiled, "Thanks Hilbert, you've gotten a lot stronger, you earned that victory."

"I couldn't have gotten stronger without your encouragement," Hilbert smiled and the two hugged, getting cheers from the audience.

"Aren't they cute?" Iris clasped her hands and her eyes glistened.

"They should definitely become a couple," May smiled as she admired the sweet exchange between the two friends.

"A very sweet ending for this match," Cilan grinned.

"Was anyone else impressed by the Wild Spark combination, that move was really something else. I can already tell Hilbert's gotten a lot stronger since our last battle!" Ash commented excitedly, fascinated by his rival's increased skill. In response to Ash's comment though, his friends and May cringed with Cilan and Iris falling back.

Benga and Bianca chuckled while May sighed, hanging her head low, "Some things will never change."

"Pika pikachu chu," Pikachu face palmed himself, as usual, everyone except his trainer seemed to be interested in love and all its wonders.

"Was it something I said?" Ash looked in confusion, wondering why they all seemed so down. He looked down at Victini, who seemed as confused as him,

"Victini tini," the Pokémon wondered, but the little one got excused since it was too young to understand that stuff.

* * *

"Emboar, use Scald!" Bianca commanded.

"Dwebble, use Protect!" Cilan instructed.

"Boooaaar!" Emboar unleashed the boiling hot water, but Dwebble's barrier protected it from the powerful move.

"Cilan and Bianca are doing really well huh?" May watched with interest.

"Of course, Cilan is a gym leader so he's got a lot skill and Bianca has years of experience as well," Iris stated.

"I wonder who'll win, it's been over ten minutes and none of them is still giving in," Ash said.

"If you ask me, Bianca is slowly getting the upper hand, Dwebble is completely tired out," Benga stated.

"But shouldn't Emboar get tired as well?" Hilda inquired.

"Emboar is also tiring out, but look at the odds, Bianca has raised that Emboar really well. It's strong, fast, and has incredible stamina, Cilan won't be able to keep up eventually," Hilbert pointed out.

"Dwebble, use Shell Smash and then follow it up with Rock Slide!" Cilan pointed at Emboar.

"Dwebble dweb," Dwebble jumped out of its shell and became enveloped in white energy. All of a sudden, red cracks appeared on its body and the white energy burst into cracked pieces of a shell while Dwebble's body began glow hot red.

"Dweeebblllleee!" the Rock-type cried out and unleashed a shower of rocks from above Emboar with the white energy shells charging at the rock slide and enveloping the showering rock barrage,

Bianca smiled and spoke, "That's a clever move Cilan, but not enough to stop Emboar. Emboar, let's use Superpower!"

"Eeeemmm!" the fire pig nodded and flexed its muscles as much as he could until he became enveloped in a light blue aura. "Boar!" the Pokémon shot up and took the Rock Slide head on, each rock cracking on contact while Emboar suffered no damage.

"That's incredible!" Ash gasped when he saw Emboar take on a powered up Rock Slide.

"Emboar isn't even recoiling a bit from that attack," May's eyes widened.

"It's over," Benga commented.

"I've tried everything, there's no use, even with Shell Smash," Cilan mumbled and gritted his teeth.

Once Emboar had completely wiped out Rock Slide, Bianca made her final command, "End this with Scald!"

"Dwebble, Protect!" Cilan ordered.

Dwebble remained in disbelief after seeing what happened and prepared to use Protect. The green barrier began to protect it, but a second later it completely faded.

"What's wrong, why did the barrier cancel?" Iris sweated from the intensity.

"Dwebble has no energy for Protect, it has no way of protecting itself," Hilbert stated as he waited for the final outcome.

"Emboooaaar!" the pig cried out and released the stream of boiling water. The attack hit Dwebble with all its might and sent the Bug-type flying.

Emboar dropped from mid air and huffed out smoke from its nostrils. "Dwebble!" Cilan cried out. Dwebble flew in the air and then dropped on the ground like a stone.

"Dwebble is unable to battle, the victory goes to Emboar!" Don George shouted.

"Unbelievable, I have to be honest everyone, this has to be the greatest tournament the Tao Competition has held yet. We've seen astounding trainers up until now and what we saw was a highly powerful Rock Slide get easily demolished by Emboar's formidable Superpower. What a show!" the caster stated.

"Dwebble you did perfect, rest now," Cilan smiled at his Pokéball and put it away.

"Thanks Emboar, you were great," Bianca returned her Pokémon.

"Bianca, thank you for a spicy and delicious fight, I haven't had a battle so exhilarating in a while," Cilan complimented his opponent.

"You really gave me a fight Cilan, thanks for battling me," Bianca smiled at him.

* * *

Scolipede walked around aimlessly with heart-shaped eyes while Emolga hovered above it laughing. "Scolipede, snap out of it and show them we're no joke, use Poison Sting!" Iris's opponent, Emmanuel commanded.

"Sco," Scolipede ignored Emmanuel and continued to walk around aimlessly.

"Let's end this Emolga, use Aerial Ace!" Iris pointed at Scolipede.

"Emo!" Emolga stopped its laughing and braced itself.

"Scolipede, Poison Sting!" Emmanuel ordered, but nothing happened.

"Eeeeeemooooo!" Emolga charged at its greatest speed and bashed against Scolipede, sending it crashing against the ground unconscious.

"Guess that's that," Iris said while Emolga got on her shoulder and winked at the audience.

"That trainer didn't even have a chance," Ash said, amazed by Iris's swift victory.

"To begin with Emolga is much faster than Scolipede, so it had the advantage in that," Cilan stated.

"Then with that Attract, it was all over," Benga added.

"A couple of Aerial Aces and Scolipede struck out of the park," Hilda finished the statement.

"Iris's Emolga is really tough, it's the first time I see it battle like this," May watched with Victini on her lap.

"Axew axew!" Axew cheered for her trainer's victory.

"Guess I am up next," Ash stood up and prepared to battle his mysterious opponent.

**As usual remember to REVIEW, PM, or WHATEVER, FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED lol. Anyways, you can obviously tell I drew inspiration from the Club Battle arc in the Best Wishes series. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, keep in mind I'm making the battles not worth describing very brief and not waste time. Believe it or not, this was going to be a monstrous chapter, it was going to be the longest one yet, but I thought it was better if I just split them into four parts so it's easier to get around. There's one thing all of you are going to enjoy reading from this useless bold paragraph. Beginning with tomorrow, I'm going to upload a chapter early in the morning between 10 and 11 am (Eastern Time) until Thursday. And now here's the bad news, I'm traveling for a month or so because of vacation and I don't know if I'll be able to work on this story, if I can I will, but this daily upload schedule is my parting gift to you until I return. I hope the next chapters won't disappoint you and once again I hope you enjoyed this chapter. So TOMORROW, make sure to get on and check out the next chapter, till next time!**


	33. A Barrage of Clashes

Chapter 33: Man in the Mirror

As he slept on the grass, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He kept taking deep breaths and sweated heavily as his dream progressed in his mind.

"_Roxas, Sapphire, you have to leave now," a male voice said with a very soft tone. _

"_But why?" the little boy asked, remaining oblivious to the sounds of explosions and yelling going on outside of the room. _

"_Because it's safer sweetheart, trust us," another voice said sweetly, a female one this time. _

"_When you come back, will we go for ice cream?" the boy inquired innocently. _

"_We'll buy you all the flavors you'd like," the male figure grinned at him. _

"_But if you don't behave, there's no ice cream, so behave well, ok sweetie?" the female figure smiled at him. _

_The doors suddenly opened and a man stood there at the entrance, "Coming…" was the only thing he said before he dropped to the ground lifelessly. _

"_It's time for you to go now," the male figure said with a soft tone. _

"_You know what to do darling," the female figure turned to the girl who stood next to Roxas; she was just as old as he was. _

"_Yep, I'll take good care of Roxas until you get back, then we'll watch movies like we use to right?" the little girl said with a sweet tone. _

"_That's right angel," the woman responded warmly. _

_The sounds of explosions echoing in the hallway reached their ears and the two adult figures spoke, "You have to hurry up now, Ho-oh is waiting outside the building to take you flying. You don't want to miss that don't you?" the man asked. _

"_Nope," the two kids shook their heads sideways. _

"_Then go, hurry honey, Ho-oh isn't a very patient bird," the woman giggled and the two kids nodded. _

_Before Sapphire and Roxas finally left through the emergency exit, the boy took one last look at the figures. They were both smiling, but they had tears in their eyes and he wondered if that was possible, if a person could be happy and sad at the time, smile and cry simultaneously. _

_The woman held onto the man and hid her face in his chest while the man gave Roxas a warm look, the last thing Roxas saw him do was wink at him and he heard something faint, but then realized what he said, "Goodbye, my son." A single tear dropping from the little boy's face when he finally understood what was actually going on. _

* * *

"Tepig, I choose you!" Ash called out his loyal Fire-type.

"Boldore, go!" the cloaked-figure commanded.

"Tepig!" Tepig glared at the Rock-type once it appeared on the battlefield.

"A Boldore, haven't fought one of those in a while," Ash stated.

"Boldore, use Power Gem," the stranger mumbled.

"Boldore!" the Rock-type acknowledged and the middle gem underneath its eyes began to glow red. Suddenly, a red beam shot out with quick speed.

"Tepig, dodge and use Flame Charge!" Ash extended his arm to the left.

"Tepig!" Tepig jetted off with fire enveloping its body. The pig's swift movement easily allowed him to avoid the Power Gem.

Boldore remained still as Tepig charged forward with all its might. "Tepig tepig teeepiiiiig!" Tepig increased the wrath of the flames encircling it and leaped at Boldore.

"Mud-Slap," the trainer murmured and with that said, Boldore, splashed dirt at Tepig much like Sand-Attack, but with more force and sent the flying.

The bomb of dirt thrown at him sent Tepig flying back, Ash reacted quickly, "Tepig, get it together and use Flamethrower!"

"Tepig," Tepig gained its composure and while in mid air used Flamethrower, blasting out the powerful stream of fire.

"Counter with Smack Down," the figure muttered.

"Dore!" Boldore charged up a golden orb and shot it at the Flamethrower. The two attacks then clashed and large explosion occurred in mid air.

"This battle isn't getting anywhere, Tepig doesn't have the advantage and Boldore's defense is too good," Iris sighed.

"Even with Tepig's superior speed and attacks," Cilan stated.

"That Natural guy seems to know what he's doing though, he already hit Tepig once, yet Tepig hasn't even laid a figure on him," Hilbert crossed his arms.

"What should Ash do now?" Hilda questioned, hoping Ash could win.

"He has to keep charging until he finds an opening or else he won't win," Benga stated.

"Ash battled a Boldore before back when I first met him, and he won. So if he can do that once, he can do it twice," Bianca was certain about Ash being able to turn the tables.

"Pika…" Pikachu watched as Tepig kept using Flamethrower and Ember to strike Boldore, but it was no use.

"Tini vi," Victini became anxious as he saw Ash's opponent start to overwhelm him.

"I feel the same. Ash can't lose and he won't lose, this battle may not be going in his favor right now, but he can still turn the tables, he always has," May spoke to Victini and expressed her undying faith in Ash's abilities.

"Power Gem," Boldore's trainer muttered.

"Tepig, counter with Flamethrower," Ash ordered.

Boldore and Tepig unleashed their attacks, both crying out their names. The two moves then collided at the middle of the field, causing another cloud of smoke due to the explosion. _He's going to strike; _the figure thought and murmured, "Iron Defense."

Boldore turned its body into iron, increasing its defense in case Tepig struck. As he predicted, a Flamethrower was ordered and a fire shot out of the cloud of smoke. The Boldore took the attack head on, but the fire sent the Rock-type flying anyway. "Boldore!" it cried out as it landed on the hard ground, _impossible, _he thought.

Ash chuckled and the smoke disappeared, revealing him and Tepig once again. "You probably thought that Iron Defense would defend you from all attacks, but you should remember that Flamethrower is a special attack. If you wanted Boldore to have guaranteed defense against Flamethrower, you should have used a move that raises its special defense," Ash explained to his opponent.

Natural gritted his teeth as the caster spoke, "Ash, finally made a hit with a remarkable comeback, not using strength to hit his opponent, but his wits. Outwitting an opponent is a very clever trick if you ask me."

Boldore groaned as it got up and Natural continued to grind his teeth, "Boldore, use Smack Down and Power Gem."

"Booooldoooore!" Boldore shouted out and released a golden orb, followed by a red beam. The double attack blasted at Tepig with great power, but Ash and Tepig remained calm.

"Tepig, use Flame Charge to dodge and use a boost from Tackle for even more speed," Ash smiled confidently, finally seeing his victory come through.

"Teeeeeepiiiiiiig!" Tepig braced itself and then darted off, become enveloped in fire once again. The fire pig easily dodged the incoming attack and was now merely a few feet away from Boldore.

"Mud-Slap," Natural muttered and Boldore prepared to hit Tepig with dirt once again.

"If Mud-Slap hits, it'll be over for Ash, it's a super effective move so it can do more damage than we think," Cilan grinded his teeth.

"C'mon Ash!" Iris yelled.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted.

"Ash, finish it!" May screamed at the raven-haired teen.

Ash caught eye of his friends and smiled, his attention then returned to Tepig, "Full speed" the trainer commanded.

"Teeeepiiiig!" Tepig leaped at Boldore with a fiery bullet right before Boldore could use Mud-Slap.

The power from Tepig's bash was so powerful it sent Boldore flying against the wall despite it being a heavy Rock-type Pokémon. "Boldoooore," the Pokémon moaned when it hit the ground after denting the wall, its eyes swirled.

"Boldore is unable to battle; the victor of this match is Tepig!" Don George announced.

"The increased speed from Tackle certainly gave Tepig the boost it needed to hit Boldore right before it could use Mud-Slap," Cilan explained how Ash had come out as the victor.

"In addition to that, the momentum from Tepig guaranteed enough power to finish Boldore, now that's some serious battle knowledge," Benga nodded, impressed by Ash's performance.

May looked at Pikachu and Victini, the three of him smiling over the victory of the person they all cared about. _Knew it like always, _May giggled in her mind

"Return Boldore," the cloaked figure returned his Pokémon.

"Way to go Tepig that was great!" Ash petted the pig while kneeling down.

"Tepig," Tepig smiled back at his trainer.

Ash motioned his gaze from Tepig to Natural and spoke across the battlefield, "Natural, thanks for a great battle, your Boldore was awesome."

Natural took a look at the grin on Ash's face while he petted Tepig and left without a word, ignoring Ash's comment and leaving everyone confused. "May be he is right after all," Natural whispered while walking away.

"Someone's a sore loser," Hilda commented.

"Some people can be so disrespectful," Bianca sighed.

"Who cares, Ash is advancing to the next round and the only left now is May," Hilbert stated and they all turned to the brunette.

The sapphire-eyed girl looked at all of them and stood up, "Right then, wish me luck." The brunette grinned and dashed off with Pikachu and Victini after her.

* * *

As she walked past the hallway, she met up with Ash. The girl stopped and pecked him on the cheek, "Ash, you did great. I'm so happy," May smiled at him.

"Thanks May, now you're the only left that needs to advance, go win it," Ash winked at her and pecked her on the cheek, making her blush lightly.

"Tini victini," Victini became visible and rubbed its cheek against May.

"Pikachu chu pi," Pikachu encouraged May as well.

The brunette smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, I'll win no doubt," her tone sounding very confident.

With that Victini and Pikachu got on Ash's shoulders and they winked at May simultaneously before walking away. May took a look at the trio and smiled, she then turned her attention to her battle. The girl looked at the entrance and rushed out, being introduced by the caster and the audience cheering when she appeared, it seemed like a lot of people in Unova were already familiar with her.

Her happiness faded when she saw her opponent though, the short red-haired opponent at the other end. His hair stood upwards and his sly grin screamed out the jerk he appeared to be, "Remember me?" the trainer asked, chuckling.

"I'm here to battle, not chat," May glared at him and reached for a Pokéball.

"Sassy, I like them like that," Dino chuckled. He reached for a Pokéball and spoke, "Babe, why don't I take you out for dinner once this is all over?"

"Not even in your dreams," May grinded her teeth in annoyance and vein popping out on her forehead.

"Ash, looks like that guy is giving May a hard time. Aren't you doing to do anything about it?" Hilbert questioned.

Ash chuckled and responded, "As much as I'd like to, May can handle this one. Once she beats him, she'll probably shut him up for good."

"Someone enjoys playing hard to get it, fine honey, let's play that way. Darumaka, let's go!" Dino called out his Pokémon.

"Liepard, take the stage!" May called out her loyal Pokémon.

"Lie," Liepard smirked once it appeared on the battlefield.

"Daru," Darumaka glared at his opponent.

"If you don't like dinner, how about movies?" Dino questioned.

"Sorry I have a boyfriend, so if you won't battle then I will! Liepard, use Night Slash!" May had gotten annoyed with this guy and was going to finish him up quick.

"You'll be dumping him once this is over, Darumaka, dodge using Rollout," Dino smirked.

"Maka!" Darumaka rolled into a ball and narrowly dodged Liepard's glowing dark claw.

"Make a u-turn and strike it with Rollout," Dino chuckled.

"Darumaka," the Fire-type obeyed and charged at Liepard this time.

"Counter with Iron Tail," May yelled.

"That won't do a thing honey, Darumaka has the advantage over steel," Dino laughed.

"That's what you think," May smirked.

Suddenly, Liepard's tail turned into steel and swung it at the rolling Darumaka. Liepard's tail hit Darumaka like a baseball bat and sent Darumaka flying.

"But how?!" Dino gasped.

"Because Darumaka was using a Rock-type move, Iron Tail had a much bigger effect and physics between the two attacks caused an even greater amount of damage," Cilan commented, smiling May's dominance over the battle.

"May, show that guy just how strong you are!" Ash yelled at her.

"You got it!" May gave him a thumbs up.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Dino raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so if you don't watch your tongue, he's going to show a lesson you'll never forget," May smirked at him.

Dino glared at her and spoke, "Darumaka, get it together and use Incinerate!"

"Too late for that, Liepard use Shadow Pulse!" May commanded.

Dino raised his eyebrows when he heard the command and saw Liepard blasting out a Shadow Ball. "Liepard!" the feline cried out and released the Dark Pulse, the spirals of the Dark Pulse were wide enough to let Shadow Ball fit and the combined attack shot at Darumaka with great power.

"Maaaaakaaaaa!" Darumaka cried out after an explosion was produced on contact. The Darumaka then dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Darumaka can no longer battle, this victory goes to Liepard!" Don George declared, the crowd cheering with joy.

"Victini v," Victini clapped with joy, knowing all along his "mama" would win.

"Pikachu pika," Pikachu raised his arms in joy as well. The rest of the gang was also pleased with the result, but they had expected nothing except May winning so it came to them as no surprise.

"A very swift and clean battle, May will certainly be a dangerous opponent in the future rounds," the caster stated.

Dino couldn't believe his eyes, he had gotten defeated. He eyed May with frightened eyes and spoke, "No one has ever defeated my Darumaka, what the heck are you?" the man took a few steps away from her as if she were a demon.

"Oh great, now he thinks I'm some monster," May sighed and reached for her Pokéball. "Liepard, you did perfect, get some rest now," the brunette smiled at the cat before returning it.

The feline smiled back as the red beam enveloped its body. "That's it I guess," May smiled and took one last look at Dino, who took a good look at May and ran away.

"Get away from me you freak!" Dino ran away with fear.

May couldn't help but laugh at his attitude, "His ego just dropped a whole bunch," the girl murmured and just walked away.

Ash turned to Hilbert, who seemed a bit surprised by Dino's reaction. Ash chuckled and spoke to him, "Didn't I tell you May could handle herself."

* * *

The next battles then progressed with ease, the trainers were tough, but none of them displayed the strategy, strength, skill, speed, or wit showed by competitors like Ash, May, and Hilbert. Soon enough though, it was time to advance to the second round and matchups were displayed on the four large screens over the audience's seats.

In the lounge, the trainers all seemed very calm about the results, including Ash's friends. Hilbert smirked and turned Benga, who merely smiled at the screen, the two couldn't wait for their upcoming battle. Following Benga and Hilbert's battle was Iris against Bianca; the two girls smiled each other and agreed to give it everything they had. Following them was Ash against a random trainer named Antonio and May would go up against a trainer named Jimmy Ray. Ash spotted Antonio and saw the trainer smirking at him, clearly recognizing the interesting battle Ash would give him.

May detected her opponent and saw him dressed in a Watchog suit. Jimmy Ray smiled and waved happily at her, the brunette's eyes widened and she lowered her head in disappointment. "Why do I always get stuck with the goofballs and creeps," the coordinator muttered.

Outside in the stadium, Cilan, and Hilda smiled when they saw the screen. They both certainly expected a great series of battles, especially between Hilbert and Benga. Back in the lounge, Don George appeared and spoke, "Will the trainers of the first match of the second round please present themselves on the battlefield now."

Benga and Hilbert looked at each other and nodded, leaving the lounge in a rush. "Good luck you two!" May wished them luck as they ran off.

"I'm sure you'll put up a good battle!" Ash shouted. Iris, Bianca, Pikachu, and Victini also smiled as they watched their two friends set off on their battle, no one doubted the high skill and power that was going to be displayed in the first round. The gang then left the lounge to watch the battle with Cilan and Hilda.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, next up on the Tao Competition are Benga and Hilbert. Please give them a warm welcome!" the caster announced and the crowd screamed when Benga and Hilbert showed up.

The two trainers got in their positions and Don George began to speak, "The rules are the same as in the first round, trainers may only use one Pokémon at a time with no substitutions. Begin!"

"Larvesta, battle time!" Benga called out his Pokémon.

"He's using Larvesta again?" Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Benga must have trained Larvesta to have a great endurance and stamina if it's up for a second match in a row," Cilan commented as he stuck to his chair, his eyes never moving away from the battlefield.

"I can't wait to see what other moves Larvesta, Benga has raised it to be really strong if it beat Trip's Chandelure," Ash commented and watched with interest along with his pal Pikachu.

Bianca, May, and Hilda also prepared to watch and as much as Hilda wanted Hilbert to win, she knew Benga would be a tough opponent.

"Alright, if he's using Larvesta, I'll use Druddigon!" Hilbert called out his Dragon-type.

"Drud," Druddigon roared fiercely when it appeared. The moment Iris saw it, her eyes glistened and she clasped her hands in admiration.

"Larvesta, use Bug Buzz!" Benga pointed at Druddigon.

"Lar," the Bug-type acknowledged and began to emit powerful red sound waves that began to bug even the audience's ears.

"Counter it Flamethrower," Hilbert smiled.

"Druddigon!" the dragon cried out and released a stream of powerful fire. The fiery attack clashed with the sound waves and it entered a power struggle.

"Break it Druddigon," Hilbert commanded and Druddigon increased the force of Flamethrower and broke through the sound waves, charging the stream of fire at Larvesta with full force.

"Larvesta, use Substitute," Benga instructed and Larvesta created a copy of itself just in time. Its copy took the Flamethrower completely and turned into ash as soon as Druddigon's attack ended.

"Clever trick Benga, but it'll take more than trickery and power to beat me. Although I was impressed that a Bug-type move like Bug Buzz could hold off something as super effective as a Flamethrower," Hilbert smirked, commenting on Benga's fine strategy.

"There's more where that came from, Larvesta go for a Double-Edge!" Benga ordered.

"Laaarveeesta!" Larvesta began to glow yellow and charged at Druddigon.

"Take to the air and strike it down with Fly," Hilbert extended his arm outward.

"Dru," Druddigon began to fly up. The Dragon-type then looked down at his opponent and gave a sly smile, the Cave Pokémon then flew back down with speed. Its body became enveloped in wind and it aimed down with accuracy and force.

"Larvesta, keep going at it!" Benga ordered and Larvesta began to charge with even more ferocity.

The two powerful Pokémon then cried out with power and struck each other head on. The impact caused between the two caused sparks to form between their heads. The bash clash went on for a few more seconds until the two flew back in pain.

"Druddigoooon!" the Dragon-type cried out when it crashed into the ground.

"Laaaar!" Larvesta also flew back and hit the ground.

"You're kidding! How'd that little thing manage to push Druddigon back!?" Hilda exclaimed.

"Big surprises come in small packages," Cilan stated.

"Benga has raised that Larvesta to be really strong, I'm amazed," Ash watched with awe.

"Druddigon, can you keep going?" Hilbert inquired as Druddigon groaned in an attempt to get up.

Larvesta moaned in pain, but quickly got back on its small legs and prepared for more. Benga chuckled and spoke, "Larvesta, use Acrobatics before it can stand!"

"It's already up!" Hilbert gasped.

"Lar lar lar vesta!" Larvesta dashed at high speed and lunged itself at Druddigon before it could even get up.

"Drudddigon!" Druddigon squealed as Larvesta bashed it repeatedly.

Hilbert gritted his teeth and spoke, "Druddigon, get it together and use Hone Claws before it can hit you again!"

"Drud drud!" Druddigon nodded and took the second it had before Larvesta could hit again to use Hone Claws. The dragon's claws extended a bit and began to glow white.

"Finish it," Benga commanded. Larvesta braced itself and dashed at full speed while in midair.

The fast moving bug left afterimages of itself as it prepared to strike down Druddigon. "Druddigon, use the speed from Rock Climb to lunge at Larvesta and use Dragon Claw!" Hilbert ordered.

Benga's eyes widened, but before he could stop Larvesta, Druddigon had already lunged after it. The dragon's claws began to glow a fierce white until it was in proximity with Larvesta and they glowed blue. "Druddigon!" Druddigon slammed Larvesta with all its force, easily overpowering Acrobatics.

"Veeeessstaaaaa!" the Bug-type cried out as it felt the mighty power of Dragon Claw slash at his face and slam him toward the ground.

When it hit, dust flew up into the air and then quickly cleared, revealing the unconscious Torch Pokémon. Benga's eyes were wide with surprise and Don George declared, "Larvesta is unable to battle, the winner is Druddigon!"

"Druddigon, excellent, go to rest now," Hilbert called back his Pokémon.

"Larvesta, you were impressive, rest for now," Benga recalled his Pokémon.

"You know Benga, you nearly had me there. One more hit and Druddigon would've been down, but I quickly realized that I needed to use speed to counter Larvesta. At first, I thought with one hit from Fly and Larvesta would've been done, but you just showed me that I still have a lot more to learn regarding Pokémon and the way they battle," Hilbert smiled at Benga.

"Hilbert, you're only the second person you give me such a difficult battle, only after my gramps. I hope we battle very soon because next time my Larvesta will be strong enough to take down your dragon," Benga smiled confidently.

"I look forward to it," Hilbert grinned and walked away.

"He won; he beat Benga, that's so cool!" Hilda cheered happily.

"Looks like Druddigon pulled through, I expected nothing less from a trainer like Hilbert," Bianca complimented, expecting nothing less from her old friend.

"Terrific battle, Hilbert defeated the champion's grandkid and showed off even more of that incredible skill he possesses. I'm really fired up now, after seeing such a heated battle!" the caster of the battle said with fervor in his voice.

"Looks like you and are up next Bianca," Iris turned to her friend and opponent.

"Let's make it a fun one," Bianca smiled at her and they both nodded.

* * *

"Pikachu pi pi pika," Pikachu tried hard to encourage Axew to win, but the battle clearly wasn't in Iris's favor.

"Iris is trying the best she can, but Bianca is too strong," Ash began to sweat a little.

"Stoutland already took like five Dragon Rages and it looks like it's still at 100%," May watched with angst.

"Tini vi v," Victini clenched in fists and looked intense, they may not be as good friends as it and Pikachu, but the Victory Pokémon still cared for Axew.

"This is bad," Cilan grinded her teeth.

"Axew, try another Dragon Rage!" Iris ordered, but it was pointless.

"Axeeeeew!" Axew released the dragon move.

"It's futile to keep using Dragon Rage, Stoutland will just counter it," Benga commented.

"Stoutland is just too experienced for Axew," Hilda said as she watched.

"I don't mean to sound harsh, but Bianca's already won," Hilbert stated, although he sympathized Axew's efforts to win.

"Stoutland use Tackle," Bianca ordered.

"Stout," Stoutland barked its name and charged, easily dashing through the Dragon Rage.

"Axew dodge!" Iris instructed.

"Aaaaax," Axew's eyes met fear when it saw Stoutland cancel out his Dragon Rage and stand before him. The fear was too much and it only stood there frozen.

Bianca hated to end the battle, it was going to be a tough loss for Iris, "Stoutland, end it with Ice Fang."

"Stou!" the dog Pokémon's teeth turned into ice and the Normal-type bit Axew.

"Eeeeewwwww!" Axew cried out when Stoutland bit it. The dog then proceeded to slamming the dragon in the ground once its icy jaw had held onto Axew for enough time.

"Axew!" Iris rushed over to it once it saw the swirl in its eyes.

"Stoutland, good job," Bianca returned Stoutland and rushed over to Axew and Iris.

"Iris, I'm so sorry, we shouldn't have gone so hard on you two," Bianca said with a very worried tone.

Iris picked up Axew and smiled warmly, "Axew axew ew," Axew gave Bianca a weak grin.

Axew's trainer spoke to Bianca with a nice tone in response, "Don't worry about it Bianca, Axew says it had fun battling you because now it feels like it wants to be even stronger. It wants to be as strong as your Stoutland. You showed us that we still have a lot to learn, hopefully, we'll get as strong as you some day."

Bianca's worried expression lightened up and the girl smiled, "That's great, I look forward to seeing Axew get even stronger in the future."

"Rivals on the battlefield, but friends for life, that's what it's all about," Ash smiled with content and everyone in the gang nodded in agreement. They all grinned at the friendly exchange between the two girls on the battlefield.

"That's true sportsmanship everyone, these two have shown us that after a hard loss we can still remain respectful and friendly," the caster remarked and everyone praised Bianca and Iris.

"Next up we have Ash Ketchum versus Antonio, after seeing Ash battle with such abilities against Natural, what can we expect from him this time?" the caster said with excitement.

* * *

"Mud Shot Palpitoad!" Ash commanded.

"Paaaaalp!" Palpitoad leaped into the air and swung its tongue, releasing shots of mud.

"Tranquil, counter with Gust!" Antonio ordered.

Tranquil furiously flapped its wings to build up a powerful wind, but the thick compound of mud was not even affected one bit as it shot at the bird. "Traaaaan!" Tranquil squealed as the heavy mud bashed its wings and breasts, sending it crashing down.

"Wrap it up with Hydro Pump!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"Palpitoooooaaaaad!" Palpitoad let out the powerful Water-type move and hit Tranquil.

Palpitoad's Hydro Pump sent Tranquil flying into the wall. To Tranquil, the pressurized water felt like a boulder pressing it up against the wall with all its force. When Palpitoad finished its attack, Tranquil dropped to the ground with swirl eyes.

"Tranquil can no longer battle, the winner is Palpitoad!" Don George announced.

Antonio returned Tranquil in disappointment, but Ash spoke to him before he could away, "Antonio, your Tranquil was great. With some more training there's no doubt it'll be even stronger!" The raven-haired trainer told his opponent.

The trainer turned to Ash and grinned, although still feeling sad over the loss, he would take Ash's advice and continue training, "Thank you Ash, I hope to battle you soon!" With that said, the boy left the battlefield.

Ash kneeled down and rubbed his hand on Palpitoad's head, "Great job Palpitoad," the boy said while smiling at it.

"Pal," Palpitoad smiled happily, enjoying the praise he received from his trainer.

From the audience, May, Pikachu, and Victini had never worried one bit through Ash's match. The skill the auburn-eyed teen had shown since the start just left them watching the entire battle with smiles on their faces. _Guess I'm up, _May thought and turned to her friends, who nodded and May dashed off to prepare for her battle.

* * *

Energy Ball sent Watchog crashing into the ground unconscious, causing May and Deerling to raise their eyebrows. "Well that wasn't much of a fight," May sighed, not very impressed by how her battle went.

"My beautiful Watchog, how dare you! Just because all these men are wolf-whistling you doesn't give you the right to put my precious Watchog and I in shame!" Jimmy Ray recalled his Watchog in embarrassment and curling his lip in annoyance.

"Oh brother," May sighed, the man's attitude reminding her of Harley. She returned Deerling, and thanked it for the swift effort.

"I feel bad for May, none of her opponents have lived up to her expectations so far and they've all turned out to be weirdoes," Hilda felt sorry for the sapphire-eyed girl.

"Well, she doesn't have to worry about that in the next round because she'll be battling Bianca or Hilbert," Ash assured them that May would have her time to shine.

"Or you Ash," Iris pointed out.

"Oh right," Ash laughed with a sheepish look, having forgotten that he was also in the competition. Pikachu and the gang sighed at the boy, but quickly turned back to May.

"Tini victini," Victini wondered what would happen if Ash and May were to battle. The Fire-type didn't seem entirely pleased with the idea.

* * *

The results were pretty much what everyone had expected and much to everyone's joy, Hilbert and Ash were going up against each other while May would battle Bianca. "Looks like it's you and me now Ash," Hilbert smiled at his rival.

"It's a battle I'm really looking forward too, this time I'm going to win," Ash grinned confidently.

"Bianca, I know you're a really strong trainer, but I can assure you that I won't lose," May smiled confidently and made a fist.

"I'll be giving this battle everything I have May, so watch out," Bianca grinned back and the four opponents eyed each other with fire in their eyes.

"They're all really fired up, aren't they Cilan?" Iris watched the four competitors stare at each other.

"Yes, but I can't help but think what will happen if Ash and May advance to the finals," Cilan rubbed his chin.

"Whatever the outcome, I'm sure it'll be the best series of battles this tournament's ever had," Hilda placed her hands on her hips.

"That's right, it doesn't matter who advances, these last three battles will be the most heated ones of the entire competition," Benga added to what Hilda said.

* * *

The figure sat up, a grim look on his face, eyeing the grass with a trouble expression. His train of thought was soon cut by the voice of someone else though, _another one of those dreams? _

With his sapphire eyes, the figure looked at his loyal partner and nodded with a sad look. The man then gently wiped away the tears that had stuck to his cheek while he was dreaming.

_How accurate was it this time? _The jackal-like creature approached him.

"Probably more accurate than the others, I wasn't killed in this one," he answered with a plain tone as he gazed at the sun.

_Do you ever wonder when you'll stop reliving the same dream every night? _The Pokémon questioned.

"I do," he nodded, "And I can only come up with one answer."

Lucario looked at him and asked, _what may be that answer if you don't mind me asking. _

"When I stop living in this world," Roxas mumbled with a depressed tone.

**As promised, you just read Chapter 33. I hope you enjoyed it; the scenes focusing on Roxas served the purpose of not making this whole chapter nonstop battling and to also give you a little more knowledge on his background. Like always, please REVIEW, PM, or SOMETHING since your THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS are always brought into CONSIDERATION. Just like today, tomorrow I'll upload the next chapter, so don't close the window because 34 will be uploaded before you even know it! **


	34. The Semifinal Challenge!

Chapter 34: Simple and Clean

"Just like in Pinwheel Forest huh?" Hilbert smirked at Ash and Snivy.

"Snivy's been eager to battle your Dewott again, the only difference this is that we'll win," Ash smirked back with his Snivy.

Hilbert crossed his arms and spoke, "Bring it on."

"Snivy, use Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.

"Snivy!" Snivy replied and launched out its vines.

The vines charged at Dewott like vicious snakes, but Hilbert was quick to counter, "Stop that with X-Scissor!"

"Dewott!" Dewott obeyed and released the X-shaped attack.

"Snivy, dodge by pushing yourself up with the vines!" Ash countered the counter.

"Sniiiivy!" Snivy pushed itself forward into the air thanks to its vines, easily dodging the X-Scissor.

"Smart Ash," Hilbert smirked at his opponent.

Ash grinned confidently and spoke, "Snivy go for a Leaf Blade!" Snivy did as instructed and made its tail glow green as it charged at Dewott while heading back to the ground.

"Dewott, Razor Shell!" Hilbert ordered. Dewott leaped into the air and grabbed one of its scalchop, without wasting a second; the otter's shell turned into a blue blade and countered Leaf Blade.

The two powerful attacks clashed in midair and caused a spark to form between Snivy and Dewott. The starter pair glared at each other as they each attempted to over the other.

"Back flip!" Ash and Hilbert commanded simultaneously.

"Sni!" Snivy canceled out its Leaf Blade and flipped backward, landing on the ground nicely.

"Dew!" Dewott did the same and landed coolly on the earth.

"They're both neck and neck!" Iris said, very caught up in the battle.

"Snivy and Dewott are both equally powered, they're both just as fast," Cilan commented.

"Which means if none of them comes up with a witty strategy, this battle could go on forever," Benga added.

"C'mon Ash!" May cheered for her boyfriend.

"Do it Hilbert!" Hilda encouraged her friend.

The two girls looked at each other and glared, forgetting a moment about their friendship too simply stare at each other while a spark formed between them. "Calm down you two, we're all friends here," Bianca chuckled nervously and tried to ease the tension.

"Pikachu," Pikachu felt uneasy being around May with the fire she had in her heart at the moment and went with Cilan. Victini on the other hand only hoped the two wouldn't start pulling their hairs after this match was over.

"Snivy, use your vines to push yourself forward and strike with Leaf Blade!" Ash instructed.

"Snivy!" Snivy extended out its vines behind and pushed itself forward while extending them. Snivy's launch almost resembled a rock being launched by a slingshot as it flew towards Dewott.

"Dewott, stop Snivy with Ice Beam," Hilbert smiled confidently.

Dewott charged up the Ice Beam and unleashed the chilly attack with a cry, "Deeeewooooott!'

"Make it trip with your vines so it fails!" Ash countered quickly.

As Snivy darted forward, it released its vines once more and just before Ice Beam could hit Snivy grabbed Dewott's legs with its vines, making Dewott fall on its back by pulling it up. The Ice Beam shot into the sky while Hilbert gasped in surprise.

"Now Leaf Blade!" Ash cried out.

"Sniiiiiivvvvvy!" Snivy did a somersault and before Dewott could get up completely, Snivy struck it hard with Leaf Blade.

"Wooooott!" Dewott cried out as it flew towards the wall.

"Dewott, push yourself back towards Snivy by using Water Pulse against the wall!" Hilbert prepared to make a comeback.

"Dewott!" didn't waste a moment to unleash Water Pulse once it got its composure. The force of the blast was enough to allow Dewott to move back towards Snivy.

"Snivy, stop it one more time with Leaf Blade!" Ash ordered.

"Ice Beam!" Hilbert demanded.

This time is was too late for Ash to stop Dewott and the otter blasted out a mighty Ice Beam that easily shot Snivy back into the ground. "Vvvvvyyyy!" the Grass-type cried out as it flew back and hit the ground roughly.

"Now use Focus Energy and deliver an X-Scissor!" Hilbert extended his arm forward.

"Dewott," Dewott smirked and a blue aura outlined its body for a second and in the next second, he slashed out an X-Scissor.

"Snivy, get up quick, you can't afford to lose!" Ash ordered while Snivy groaned in pain as it slowly got up. Once it got up, it revealed that its left leg had been frozen and X-Scissor was ready to send the final blow.

"Perfect, now it's too slow to even dodge," Hilbert grinned, certain of his victory.

Ash gritted his teeth at Hilbert, but then looked at Snivy. The Grass-type was gasping in pain and Ash knew things would end badly if X-Scissor hit. The boy then began to speak to it with a warm tone, "Snivy, you have to fight back. Don't let a little bit of ice hold you back from winning, you have to remember that I believe in you and I know we can win this together. If we work together, there's no one that can stop us from becoming the best, we won't lose to Hilbert, we won't lose to Hilbert and we won't lose to anyone! Snivy, use Leaf Storm!"

With Ash's fine words of encouragement, Snivy found its will to fight back and raised its arms, a green aura of energy enveloped it and green energy leaves surrounded it. "Sniiiiiivvvvvy!" the Grass-type cried out and launched its arms in the direction of X-Scissor. The Leaf Storm charged at X-Scissor with great force, but it didn't appear to frighten Hilbert.

When Leaf Storm and X-Scissor clashed, the two attacks entered a power struggle. "Ash, Leaf Storm can't win over an attack with a type advantage," Hilbert chuckled.

"That's what you think, Snivy go!" Ash pointed at the X-Scissor.

Suddenly, Snivy's entire body began to glow a dark green color that amazed the audience and even Hilbert. "Overgrow's been activated," Benga pointed out.

"That will give Snivy the power it needs to win," Cilan eyed Snivy with a confident smile.

"Wow," Hilda watched with amazement as Snivy glowed beautifully.

May's grin was as bright as day when she saw Snivy activate its special ability and was now sure that Ash would come out as the victor. _That's my boyfriend, _May thought and then giggled to herself, confusing Victini and Pikachu.

Axew, Bianca, and Iris also seemed as mesmerized as Hilda when they saw Snivy's Overgrow; they too were also beginning to think about the possibility of Ash winning.

"Sniiiiiiivvvvvyyyyy!" Snivy's voice echoed through the stadium when it added more power to Leaf Storm and finally overwhelmed X-Scissor.

The energy leaves canceled out X-Scissor and then charged at Dewott, slashing through the otter like if it were paper. "Deeeeeeeewwwww!" Dewott cried in pain as the energy leaves slashed against him and sent him flying.

"Dewott!" Hilbert saw his starter flying this way and caught the otter in his arms, its eyes swirled.

"Dewott is no longer able to battle, the victory goes to Snivy!" Don George announced.

"An astounding battle that could've gone either way, but the bond between Snivy and Ash is what marked his victory in the semifinal round. With this victory he is allowed to advance into the finals!" the battle caster declared much to the joy of the people who were watching.

"You were awesome Dewott, take a good rest now," Hilbert recalled his friend with a grin.

"Terrific job Snivy, you did amazing," Ash smiled at his friend.

"Snivy," Snivy nodded and gazed at Ash proudly. The raven-haired teen returned his Grass-type and went up to Hilbert.

"Hilbert, you're Dewott was something else. I really wasn't sure what to expect when it used Water Pulse to charge back at Snivy or when it froze its leg. I'm glad we got to battle again," Ash smiled at his friend and rival.

"You're the one that's improved Ash, I haven't enjoyed a battle as much as this one since the last time we battled," Hilbert grinned.

"Ash and Hilbert did great, wouldn't you agree Hilda?" May smiled at her rival, forgetting about their earlier glare exchange.

"I completely agree, after battling so hard and encouraging Snivy like that Ash earned the victory. Your boyfriend really is something else May," Hilda responded.

"But your soon-to-be boyfriend was just as good," May teased her and winked, causing Hilda to blush and turn away while everyone else laughed at the two girls.

* * *

"May the best girl win," May grinned with poise at her green-eyed opponent.

"Same to you May," Bianca responded with the same poise.

"Reuniclus, let's battle!" Bianca called out her Pokémon.

"Tepig, I choose you!" May threw her Pokéball.

"Tepig!" Tepig cheered happily when it came out.

"Reun," a green-colored Pokémon said. Its appearance was rather odd since its body seemed to be covered in a jelly green substance.

"What Pokémon is that?" Ash raised an eyebrow and got out his Pokédex.

"Reuniclus, the Multiplying Pokémon and the evolved form of Duosion, several Reuniclus can amplify their Psychic powers when they clasp hands and their brains form a network," the Pokédex informed.

"Reuniclus, use Rock Tomb!" Bianca pointed at Tepig. Reuniclus began to glow blue and it lifted its arms, causing three pillars of rock to rise out of the ground.

"Reuniclus!" the Psychic-type threw them at Tepig.

"Tepig, move away!" May ordered.

"Tepig," Tepig braced itself and moved away just before Rock Tomb could trap him.

"My Tepig is faster than you imagine, you'll have to try harder than that," May smirked at her opponent. "Now Tepig, use Flamethrower!" May commanded.

"Teeeepiiiiig!" Tepig released a powerful stream of fire.

Bianca grinned innocently and countered, "Reuniclus stop Flamethrower with Psychic!"

"Re," Reuniclus began to glow blue again and so did Flamethrower. The Psychic-type successfully stopped Flamethrower in its tracks and Bianca made her next move, "Send it back!" Reuniclus then launched its arms forward with Flamethrower aiming back at Tepig.

"Tepig dodge that!" May ordered and Tepig jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging the incoming move.

"Fighting a Psychic-type will be tricky, May needs to come up with a way to outsmart it," Cilan commented.

"May has it under control, she'll win I just know it!" Ash cheered confidently with Pikachu and Victini sharing his attitude, but the others didn't seem so sure.

"Energy Ball!" Bianca ordered and Reuniclus formed a green sphere in front of it. The Psychic-type then launched it at Tepig.

"Why would Bianca use a move that has a disadvantage against Tepig," May seemed baffled, but ignored the thought and spoke, "Tepig avoid it!"

Tepig easily slid to the left, nimbly dodging the Energy Ball. "Dizzy Punch!" Bianca instructed and out of nowhere, Reuniclus appeared with a rainbow-colored orb enveloping its fist.

Dizzy Punch hit its mark and sent Tepig flying. "Teeeepiiiiig!" Tepig cried out as it flew until it hit the ground.

"Of course, she used Energy Ball as a distraction. That's outwitting your opponent for sure," Benga said.

"Now what's going to happen?" Iris watched with concern.

"Tepig, you have to get up, you can still win," May encouraged her Pokémon and Tepig obeyed, but when it stood up, it walked around aimlessly with swirl eyes.

"Oh no!" Hilda exclaimed.

"Dizzy Punch managed to confuse Tepig, May's in for some big trouble," Hilbert pointed out.

"Now use Rock Tomb," Bianca grinned. Reuniclus did as ordered and threw three pillars of stone at Tepig.

"Dodge Tepig!" May commanded, but it was no use, Tepig didn't obey and was trapped.

"Now use Psychic," Bianca ordered and Reuniclus used its psychic powers to control Tepig. The Psychic-type then smashed Tepig against stones multiple times while Bianca watched.

"Tepig…" May whispered with concern as Tepig was bashed from one stone to another.

"Te…pig…te…pig…teeee!" Tepig cried out as it was flung around.

Ash grinded his teeth as he watched Tepig get slowly defeated. Victini almost used its victory energy to allow May to win, but neither Ash nor Pikachu allowed it, knowing that wouldn't be fair. The raven-haired teen then took it upon himself to help Tepig and May, "May!" Ash called out.

May turned to Ash and the boy instantly saw the desperation in her eyes, "May, you have to talk to Tepig so it can snap out of it. It's no use to just watch Reuniclus beat it, you have to break through its confusion and get it to fight back!"

"But how?" May wasn't sure if she was able to.

Ash grinned and spoke to her, "May, there is no how, just speak to Tepig as a friend and it'll come its senses. You can do it, I know you can. You've been in tougher situations and you made it out of those, you can do the same now."

As usual, Ash's words rang through May's head and gave her the strength she needed to fight back. The brunette nodded with a grin on her face. Her eyes turned back to Tepig and she spoke, "Tepig, I need you to snap out it please! I know you can do it, because we've been in tougher situations and we pulled through together. Remember how we battled together in your first contest that Scolipede almost had you, but you wouldn't let it win and it was so much stronger, so if you can do it once you're able to do it twice. Try it Tepig and we'll win together!"

All of a sudden, Tepig's flinging body began to glow blue and Reuniclus's psychic powers were canceled out. "What's going on?" Bianca raised an eyebrow.

"It's evolving…" Hilda murmured.

"Into Pignite," Cilan finished.

Tepig's body began to change drastically, suddenly its structure became bigger, thicker and it seemed as though it was turning bipedal. Its grew a lot taller, the bright blue light amazed everyone as the stones surrounding Tepig shattered and in its place a new Pokémon dropped.

"Incredible," May's eyes brightened when she saw her Pokémon. She took out her Pokédex for information.

"Pignite, the Fire Pig Pokémon. Pignite moves faster when its internal flame becomes more intense. This also occurs when it gets angry," the machine informed.

"Tepi- I mean Pignite, you evolved so we could win?" May smiled sweetly at it.

"Nite," Pignite grinned confidently.

"Alright, I knew they could do it!" Ash celebrated happily with Victini and Pikachu.

"It even snapped out of its confusion, things are about to get interesting," Benga commented.

"Time to test out Pignite's new abilities May, let's see if it can handle a Psychic!" Bianca made her command.

"Pignite, don't let it use Psychic, use Flamethrower!" May countered.

"Piiiiiigniiiiite!" Pignite unleashed a much more powerful Flamethrower than the one it used as a Tepig. What was more amazing though was how fast it blasted it out, the Flamethrower struck Reuniclus before it could even use Psychic.

The burning attack sent Reuniclus crashing into the ground, crying out in pain. "Reuniclus don't give in yet!" Bianca commanded.

Reuniclus got up, but it had scorch marks all over that would severely drop its health. "Reuniclus is burned Bianca, it's only a matter of time before this is over. Pignite, use Take Down!" May instructed.

"Pignite!" Pignite braced itself and then charged at Reuniclus.

"Energy Ball!" Bianca demanded and Reuniclus released the green-colored attack.

Pignite easily moved away, but Bianca's next attack was coming, "Dizzy Punch!"

"Dodge again!" May commanded. Pignite quickly saw Reuniclus coming and nimbly dodged the move. "Pignite's senses and speed are much higher than they were as a Tepig, so you're technique won't work anymore. Now use Take Down, Pignite!" May made her next move while Bianca grinded her teeth.

"Nite!" Pignite bashed at Reuniclus right after dodging and sent the Psychic-type flying.

"Now use our improvised Flamethrower for a little dazzle!" May instructed.

"Reuniclus, prepare to dodge fast!" Bianca instructed.

Reuniclus quickly gained its composure while Pignite prepared to use Flamethrower. "Piiiiigniiiiite!" the Fire Pig Pokémon cried out as it released the thick blast of fire.

"Dodge!" Bianca ordered and Reuniclus went higher into the air.

"Bring it home," May grinned and Pignite gazed up at the escaping Reuniclus. Flamethrower then moved upward much to everyone's surprise, but what was even more shocking was the tip of Flamethrower taking the shape of a Panlong Dragon's head.

Reuniclus could no longer keep dodging and was caught in the full flame of May's unique Flamethrower. "Reeeeeeuuuuun!" the Psychic-type cried as the flames burned it until there was no more fire and it dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Reuniclus is unable to battle, the victory goes to Pignite!" Don George announced the entire crowd cheered with delight.

"Simply remarkable, I was on the edge of my seat during this whole battle. With Pignite's evolution, it successfully turned the tide of the battle and displayed some incredible ability. It easily overcame Reuniclus's tricks and May even revealed to us an inescapable Flamethrower that turned into the shape of a dragon, just remarkable!" the caster said with voice that clearly showed he was enthusiastic as ever.

"The Flamethrower May and Pignite used is Homing Flamethrower, it's a manipulated version of Flamethrower that controls the aim. Some friends of ours and us practiced it almost every day back in Pallet," Ash told his other friends as he smiled at May, who waved at everyone cheering for her. _As for the dragon shape of the Flamethrower, that was just a coordinator ability only May could pull off, _the boy thought and smiled.

Victini and Pikachu held each other's hands happily, cheery over their friend's victory while everyone else in the gang was completely amazed. Not even Benga, who had witnessed League Battles thanks to his gramps, had ever seen a trainer battle in such a way.

"May that battle was out of this world, congratulations for moving on to the finals!" Bianca congratulated May after thanking Reuniclus and returning.

"Thanks Bianca, it was all thanks to Pignite though. It pulled through for me after I believed in it," May looked down at her Fire-type and petted its head, making the pig smile joyfully.

"You do know who your opponent is next though, right?" Bianca reminded May.

That's when the thought struck May and her eyes widened, she was so caught up in her victory she had forgotten what was next. When she and Ash came to the realization at the same time, they both yelled, "I battle May/Ash next!"

"Well this is going to be very interesting," Benga smirked.

"I never thought the competition would end up you two battling each other to be honest," the news came to Iris as a surprised as well.

"This recipe might have a bitter taste," Cilan stated.

Victini and Pikachu froze in their positions and wondered on how to react. Hilbert and Hilda also seemed as surprised as Iris. "It was the inevitable though," Hilbert smiled at Ash, who looked at him blankly in return.

"Looks like you two are currently the strongest out of all of us," Hilda stated.

Ash wasn't sure how to respond and looked to May, the brunette also stared at him with a blank expression. The couple wasn't sure what to expect.

* * *

As they walked to the lounge and waited for May and Bianca, Iris spoke, "My two of my closest friends are going to battle it out and I'm not sure who to support. I'm getting a headache from all this thinking," Iris shut her eyes tight due to uncertainty.

"That's going to be a tough choice, Ash and May are my friends too," Hilbert stated with a bummed look.

"Same here," Hilda also had the same disappointed expression.

"Pikaachu," Pikachu sighed as well.

"Victini tini vi v," Victini seemed to be the one who was most saddened by the situation though. The Victory Pokémon wasn't sure who to support, its mama or papa.

"Hey everyone," a voice said and they all saw Bianca rushing up to them with May.

"You two were excellent out there, good job," Benga grinned at them.

"Thank you," Bianca giggled.

"Ash…" May's voice snapped Ash out of his train of thought and the boy turned around.

Ash received her with a warm smile and replied, "May, you were awesome out there. I knew you could it."

"Thanks, but now we'll be battling each other. It's been a long time since that's happened and it'll be the first time we battle each other as a couple," May sighed, not sure if she should be happy or sad with the result.

Ash placed his hand on her shoulder and responded, "You know, I was thinking about that on my way here and I know we haven't battled since the Terracotta Contest. You know what though?"

"What?" May inquired with a confused look.

"Whether we're battling as friends or a couple, we shouldn't stress about and we should enjoy the fact that now we have a chance to battle each other after so long," Ash looked into May's eyes and smiled.

May's face started to lighten up and a grin began to form across her face, "You know what, I agree with you. Our last battle was one of the best I've had. I can't forget how incredible that last day of traveling with you was, our battle was the icing on the cake after traveling so long together." The brunette then took out her half of the Terracotta ribbon from her jacket's pocket and showed it to Ash.

Ash reached into the pocket of his hoodie and revealed his half of the ribbon. They placed their halves of the Terracotta ribbon together, forming the single ribbon it originally was. They held the ribbon while smiling lovingly at each other. The gang watched them interact, all of them except for Cilan and Iris were unfamiliar with the ribbon, but they watched with interest.

"Let's make this battle the biggest one yet," Ash said with a gentle, yet confident tone.

"We'll give it everything we've got," May answered with the same soft, yet confident voice.

"Although, just because we're a couple," Ash attempted to say something, but May finished it for him.

"Doesn't mean we'll go easy on each other, I'm going to win with everything I have Ash Ketchum!" May's eyes glistened alongside her confident voice.

"May, I wouldn't have it any other way!" Ash's eyes also shined and spoke with poise.

The two then separated their parts of the Terracotta ribbon and went for a hug, the couple embracing themselves tenderly while everyone in the room watched.

"Guess that solves that problem," Cilan crossed his arms with a joyous grin across his face.

"It doesn't matter who wins, the point is that this will be a great battle!" Iris cheered.

"That's right, whichever one is the victory, has earned it," Hilbert stated.

"They certainly are just two of a kind," Hilda's eyes began to water, to her the scene just seemed so affectionate and she hid her face in Hilbert's face. Hilda's action caused Hilbert to blush, but no one noticed.

"Pika pikachu pi," Pikachu watched with happiness alongside Victini.

"Tini victini v," Victini nodded, joyful about how Ash and May had solved that issue. Now the Victory Pokémon didn't care which one of its parents won, all it wanted was to see both of them fight their best.

Ash took a glance at Pikachu and the mouse quickly noticed, "Pikachu pika?" the Pokémon asked.

The auburn-eyed teen quietly nodded with a grin while still holding onto May. Pikachu though, grinned confidently in response.

* * *

The sound of glass breaking alarmed the Plasma Grunt walking past it and instantly turned around. "What the!" the grunt's eyes widened when he saw the man who wore the red helmet, but before he could do anything the intruder jabbed him in the stomach and then karate chopped his neck, knocking him out cold.

"Nighty night," the man said and placed the hood from his black cloak over his head.

The figure then reached for a Pokéball and threw it. From it emerged the mysterious Rotom, who turned to its master, waiting for orders. "Rotom, let's proceed with our sneak tactic," the man said.

"Tom," the Electric-type nodded.

They then began to walk into the darkness of the hallways, vanishing in it like ghosts. A Plasma Grunt walked around scouting the black hallways to make sure no intruder had entered; unfortunately, the man wasn't blessed with quick reflexes. From the corner of the hallway, our intruder karate chopped the man's Adam's apple, causing the grunt to collapse on the floor.

"N should train these fools to be alert on their job," the man looked down with Rotom and then walked away, leaving N's minion for dead.

Another cowardly walked the hall, his hand that held his Pokéball shook nervously and the man knew he should have never signed up to be part of Team Plasma. He had heard the rumors about the shadow men that worked with Team Neo Plasma and feared them more than anyone; his eyes scouted the area frantically, not knowing that enemy stood just a few feet behind him.

"Thunder Wave," the man whispered and the grunt quickly turned around.

"Wha?" the grunt said in alarm, but before he could throw his Pokéball, it dropped to the ground. Electricity coursed through the man's body and he dropped like a statue.

The man with the red helmet looked down at his victim, he see the fear in his eyes as the paralysis made his body tremble every second. To put him out of misery, the man placed his foot on his chest and began to press down, cracking several bones until the grunt's body stopped moving.

"Let's go," the man ordered his Rotom and continued walking along.

"Confuse Ray," the man muttered when he saw a grunt coming his way.

"What are you doing here?" the grunt became alerted, but before he could react Rotom shot out a golden orb at the man and burst in front of his face, leaving the man in a confused state.

The grunt dropped his Pokéball and walked around aimlessly like a zombie, with drool dripping from his mouth. When Rotom's trainer passed by him, he slammed the grunt's head against the steel wall, silencing him.

As the man in the black coat walked through the halls, he stopped in the corner of a hallway and heard the voices of people talking. "I told him once before, N wants the project destroyed and as our king, he must obey him," an elderly voice said.

"Bronius," the intruder identified him as one of the seven sages.

"I will inform him of that sir," the Plasma Grunt replied.

"Please do," Bronius answered.

By the sounds of the footsteps, the trespasser could tell there was a group of five, excluding Bronius and that they were heading in his direction. The man then turned to his Rotom and muttered, "Rotom, use your Ominous Wind to cut off the lights in that hallway and then use Double Team to distract his men."

Rotom quietly nodded and became invisible. The man could still sense Rotom's presence nearby; after all, they had been partners since he started his journey as a boy. He then formed a half-smile when he heard the howling of the wind and instantly knew it was Rotom's doing. The light bulbs in the hallway burst and the lights were out for the group in the hallway.

"Blast the lightning in this building, why would N choose this as a hideout for our organization," Bronius complained.

"Sir, look there several Rotom wandering the halls!" a grunt pointed out.

"Those dang Electric-types must have caused this. Capture them if you must immediately!" Bronius shouted.

"Right away!" the five men replied at the same time.

As they ran off, Bronius continued to walk alone, sighing over the task N had given them with a certain project. When he reached the corner of the hallway, he felt someone knee in the stomach. The air blew out of him and he was left without a breath to speak. Bronius quickly felt a tall man lift him up by the collar and could identify him as sinister by the tone in his voice.

"Hello Bronius," the stern figure said.

The gasped when he saw threw the hood and saw his red helmet. "Genesis," the man whispered with fear.

"Correct," Genesis replied with a serious tone and just as Bronius prepared to yell out for his grunts, bursts of Discharge lightened the halls and sounds of bodies dropping echoed the dark hallways.

"It's a little too late to call your men," Genesis muttered.

"What business do you have with us?" Bronius gritted his teeth.

"Ghetsis wanted me to inform you and the rest of your unit on this island that they are taking over N's project as well as the island," Genesis spoke with a very malicious voice.

Bronius's eyes widened with fear, but before he could say anything the Majestic 12 member threw him at a window. The glass cracked the very moment Bronius flew through it and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of a body dropping into the water.

Rotom suddenly appeared next to Genesis and its trainer began to speak, "Well done, now let's move. We have things to do." With that said, the duo went back to walking in the dark hallways, ready to torture any other grunt that came their way.

**Hope you liked it! The Genesis scene was just to take a break from the battling, but also a sneak peek of what the villains are up to. Hopefully, you guys also enjoyed the Advanceshipping scene right before the transition to Genesis. Like always, feel free to REVIEW, PM, or some way of letting me know what you thought of 34, COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED. Next chapter ASH VS MAY, so stick around because next chapter brings the Tao Competition to a close. For now, catch ya later! **


	35. Ash vs May

Chapter 35: Advanced Battle

"Welcome one and all to the final round of the Tao Competition. As you may already know, the prize for this competition is up to the winner, with the offers being either the Yin Badge for anyone who wishes to compete in the Unova League. The other is the Yang Ribbon, which will be the prize for the one who wishes to compete in the Grand Festival. Our final competitors are the skilled Ash Ketchum and the lovely May, please give them a roar of welcome to the final round of the competition!" the caster announced.

The audience cheered loudly as May and Ash ran out from opposite directions, waving at the people surrounding them. The two then got into their positions and smiled confidently at each other. Victini and Pikachu sat on May and Ash's shoulders respectively, wishing to be with the two trainers down on the battlefield for this round. The two Pokémon smiled at each other while the couple waited for Don George to give them the call.

"I'm sure you two finalists know the rules by now. All I have to say is to begin!" Don George shouted.

"Pikachu, you're up pal," Ash looked at his partner with a grin.

"Pikapi pika," Pikachu leaped off his trainer's shoulder and landed on the battlefield.

"You know Ash, I've really looked forward to battling your Pikachu one day and now I'm more excited than ever," May said while reaching for your Pokéball.

Ash grinned and replied, "What will your Pokémon be May?"

"You're as familiar with it as I'm familiar with Pikachu, check it out!" May threw her Pokéball with great enthusiasm.

From the Pokéball emerged the most predictable, but necessary Pokémon for this battle. In front of May stood her most powerful and signature Pokémon, "Blaziken!" the Pokémon shouted and fired up the flames on its wrists.

When it saw that its opponents were Ash and Pikachu, a smirk formed across the Blaze Pokémon's face. The Fire-type had longed for the day where he'd battle Ash's most notable Pokémon.

"Blaziken, this will be fun," Ash smiled confidently.

"You can already tell that this battle will be more colossal than any of the previous ones, they're using their strongest Pokémon for this match," Cilan stated.

"This is going to get exciting!" Iris was already sitting on the edge of her seat while the rest of their friends were too captivated to even speak.

"Alright let's go, Pikachu, use Quick Attack and Agility for a speed boost!" Ash pointed at his opponent.

"Pikaaaa," Pikachu braced itself and then jetted off like a speedy bullet towards Blaziken.

"Blaziken, there's no way you spot Pikachu at the pace it's running so use Fire Spin as a defense!" May commanded.

"Blaze!" Blaziken acknowledged and lifted its head into the air, letting out a spiral stream of fire that went downward in its direction.

"Keep going Pikachu," Ash ordered. Pikachu didn't waste a bit of its energy and darted off with even more speed, it was almost as if the mouse was teleporting forward instead of running.

Unfortunately, the Fire Spin quickly enveloped Blaziken in fiery barrier that left it safe from Pikachu's attack. "Blaziken!" Blaziken declared when its fiery shield completely protected it.

What was even more unfortunate was Pikachu had gone too fast to stop and crashed directly into the fire. "Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu squealed when the fire pushed him back and it felt the heat burning away a bit of its fur.

"Pikachu, you okay?" Ash showed concern for his Pokémon as it flew back.

Pikachu quickly gained its composure and landed safely on all fours, glaring at his Fighting-type opponent. Blaziken's Fire Spin shield then burst in all directions and the flames vanished.

"Surprised you with that one didn't I Ash?" May smiled at him.

"I didn't even know that Blaziken could do that," Ash said, surprised at how May countered his move.

"Well it wouldn't be fun if you knew all moves would it?" May winked at him.

Ash raised his eyebrow at her, but then grinned confidently, "Guess not, but this battle is just starting May. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu got on two feet, compressed its body together then yelled out its name "Piiiiikaaaachuuuu!" The fierce lightning bolt shot out like a dart and went for Blaziken with great force.

"Blaziken, dodge it!" May countered.

"Ken!" Blaziken jumped into the air about 30 stories into the air.

"Whoa, it's almost like it can fly!" Iris shouted.

"Who needs wings if that's how high you can go," Hilda gasped at the sight.

"There's no way Pikachu's Thunderbolt can hit if there's that much distance between them," Bianca admired Blaziken as it remained in midair for the time being.

"I wouldn't be so sure, take a look at the battlefield," Cilan pointed out and they all looked back at the ground.

"Take it home Pikachu," Ash commanded.

Pikachu smirked and raised its arms into the air, "Piiikaachuuu!" Suddenly, the Thunderbolt shot upwards in Blaziken's direction.

"Homing Thunderbolt!" May remembered the familiar technique.

"Remember that you're not the only who knows that one May," Ash smiled confidently. The messy-haired teen's strategy surprised everyone; no one had expected Ash to know the same move as May.

"Blaze?" Blaziken looked down and saw Thunderbolt charging. Before the Fire-type could even react though, it was struck by the mighty electric attack, causing it to scream in pain, "Blaaaaaaze!"

When Pikachu finished its Thunderbolt, Blaziken began to fall like a duck that had just been shot down. Ash and Pikachu smiled with poise when they saw the result, but May remained calm. Just a few meters before hitting the ground, Blaziken gained its composure and landed on the ground safely, although it did have some injuries from Thunderbolt.

"Blaziken recovers fast, but hope you know now that you can't escape Pikachu's Thunderbolt so easily," Ash smirked at May.

"Two can play at that game Ash," May smirked back at Ash. "Blaziken, use Quick Attack!" May instructed.

"Blaze," Blaziken braced itself and then darted off.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Ash extended his arm to the right.

At first May didn't appear too alarmed about Electro Ball until it grew double the size of a regular Electro Ball. _Nice try Ash, but it'll take more than a powered up Electro Ball; _May thought and then gave a sly smile. "Blaziken, cancel out that oversized Electro Ball with a Flamethrower Spin!" May instructed, surprising everyone with the dual attack command.

As Blaziken ran towards Pikachu it opened its mouth wide and let out a Fire Spin and Flamethrower. Everyone seemed amazed by the combination attack except for Ash and Pikachu, who were familiar with how lethal the attack was. The Flamethrower shot through the spirals of the Fire Spin and the double fire attack charged toward Electro Ball with great might.

When the two improvised super attacks collided, large tower of white light occurred. Everyone turned around from the blinding light except for Ash and May, who focused their vision on their Pokémon. Suddenly, Blaziken leaped out of the bright tower with a ferocious fire enveloping its body.

Ash quickly identified the move as Flare Blitz and made haste to counter since the fast Pokémon was just a few feet away from Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Counter Shield!" Ash demanded.

Pikachu quickly saw the impending danger and began to spin while letting out powerful bolts of electricity as a form of defense. "That one won't work Ash!" May yelled across the battlefield.

Much to Ash's surprise, May had proven him wrong by overwhelming one of his most powerful defense strategies. Blaziken broke through the shield of electricity with the fire from Flare Blitz and bashed at Pikachu with great strength, sending it crashing to the ground.

"Chaaaaa!" Pikachu cried out when it hit the ground.

When the tower of light finally faded, they were all disappointed to see that they had missed on some of the action when they found Pikachu lying on the ground while Blaziken stood proudly in front of it.

"Pikaaa…pi…" Pikachu took deep breaths as it got up, having suffered major damage from Flare Blitz.

Ash gritted his teeth while May gave Pikachu a few seconds to gain a breather. The raven-haired teen frowned at May and spoke, "Pikachu, use Quick Attack and Agility again!"

"Blaziken, you know what to do it," May smirked at her Fire-type.

Blaziken nodded and raised its head into the air to prepare the Fire Spin shield, but Ash knew just how to overcome that obstacle this time. "Add more speed to your attack by changing to Volt Edge!" the auburn-eyed teen.

"Huh?" May's eyes widened.

Pikachu glared at Blaziken and began to run at a faster speed than before. A bright yellow aura enveloped it and a violent charge of electricity encased the mouse. Blaziken tried to hasten the creation of the shield, but it was too late, the tremendous speed Pikachu had gained was ample enough to stop Blaziken in its tracks.

"Piiikaaachuuuu!" Pikachu lunged at Blaziken with full force, the volts from Volt Tackle and the bash from Double-Edge combined into one. The mighty combo attack felt a jab to Blaziken's gut and the Blaze Pokémon was sent flying into the air with several sparks coursing through its body.

"Blaaaaaaaaziiiiiiikeeeeen!" Blaziken cried out as it flew high into the air while Pikachu looked up at it with a glare on its face and gasping for air.

Victini watched with horror as he saw Ash and May beat each other's Pokémon with such brute force, the only thing that worried was they might have been taking it a little too far. However, the Fire-type was sure they would never hurt each other like that.

"Pikachu, finish Blaziken with a Thunder!" Ash pointed up at the still rising Blaziken.

Pikachu took a deep breath and charged up energy, "Piiiiiiiiiiikaaaaaaaachuuuuuu!" the mouse shouted, releasing one of the most powerful electric attacks.

"Blaziken, pull yourself together because I know you can win this, use Fire Blast!" May instructed and true to her words, Blaziken found its will to keep fighting and gained its composure in midair.

"Blaaaaaziiiiiikeeeeeen!" Blaziken pulled its head back and charged up a powerful flame, then shot out a five-edged fire attack, Fire Blast.

The two tremendous attacks clashed with each other in midair, but neither achieved to overpower the other and caused a large explosion between Blaziken and Pikachu. A large cloud of smoke was formed and May and Ash remained attentive to everything around them.

Ash quickly expected another sneak attack like with Flare Blitz and had been proven correct when Blaziken burst out of the cloud with Blaze Kick. "Blaziken, add the power Mega Kick to your Blaze Kick!" May demanded.

"Blaz!" Blaziken aimed down at Pikachu with its fiery talon. All of a sudden, a blue glow encased the red flame and Blaziken prepared to attack Pikachu with even more ferocity.

"May, I doubt you're familiar with this attack," Ash gave her girlfriend a sly grin.

"What attack?" May raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"Electro Iron Tail!" Ash countered Blaziken's powered up Blaze Kick.

May's eyes widened when she heard the move and saw Pikachu jump into the air to close the distance between the two battlers. Pikachu smirked at Blaziken and then charged up an Electro Ball at the tip of its tail. As the two closed in on each other, Pikachu's tail turned into steel and Pokémon put a very sly smile on, "Pikachuuuuu!" the mouse cried out. The Electric-type swung the combined power of Iron Tail and Electro Ball to fight back Blaziken's powered up Blaze Kick.

"Blaaaaaaz!" Blaziken shouted on impact, trying to overpower Pikachu.

"Piiiiikaaaa!" Pikachu did the same and showed no sign of losing to the Blaze Pokémon.

At this point, everyone in the audience was sweating as much as Ash, May, Pikachu, and Blaziken. None of them knew what the outcome would be. A violent green spark formed between the attacks, showing just how intense the power struggle was.

"Blaziken!" May yelled.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"More power!" the two screamed simultaneously.

"Piiiiiiikaaaaachuuuuu!" Pikachu invested even more power into its attack.

"Blaaaaaaziiiiiikeeeeen!" Blaziken instilled more fire into its move.

In the end, none of them could control the force of their clashing powers and bright explosion occurred between the two. The bright white burst of energy sent Pikachu and Blaziken flying in opposite directions, both of them squealing in pain.

Pikachu landed near Ash, but it wasn't even two seconds and the mouse was already attempting to get up, although it still groaned in pain. The same went for Blaziken, who landed near May, but the Fire-type didn't even give itself two seconds to catch a breath.

"Tini victini," Victini whispered to May's ear.

May smiled sweetly at it and replied, "Don't worry Victini, Ash and I won't hurt each other or our Pokémon. It's just Blaziken and Pikachu seem to really want to keep battling. I don't even know how we're still going like this…maybe it's because this is the most exhilarating battle the four of us have had in a pretty long time. If Pikachu and Blaziken show any signs of not being able to battle any longer though, I'll make sure to stop the battle if Ash doesn't beat me to it first."

"Victini v," Victini grinned, relaxed by the explanation given to it by its mama.

Ash, Pikachu, and Blaziken were also aware of what Victini was most likely saying, but once May turned her attention back to the battle they all nodded at each other. The smiles on the four of them showed that they were still willing to continue.

"Ok, Pikachu give Blaziken a taste of your classic Volt Tackle!" Ash extended his arm forward.

"Pika pika pika pika," Pikachu began to run at an incredible speed as its body became encased in bright electricity.

"Blaziken, stop it with a Flamethrower!" May instructed.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken cried out and made the flames on its wrists grow slightly. The Blaze Pokémon then released a stream of violent fire at Pikachu at a rapid rate.

"Pikachu, use your Agility to dodge!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!" Pikachu obeyed and as soon as it saw Flamethrower coming, it moved away thanks to the speed enhancement of Agility.

"Blaziken, try a rapid fire version Flamethrower, try to hit Pikachu!" May commanded.

"Blaaaaz!" Blaziken shouted and released Flamethrower once again.

"Pikachu, just keep dodging with Agility!" Ash grinded his teeth in response to May's deadly command.

Pikachu narrowly dodged every Flamethrower even with the assistance of Agility. Blaziken just kept firing Flamethrower like if it were Bullet Speed. Much to everyone's surprise though, Pikachu still saved itself from the fiery intensity of Flamethrower. Pikachu's speed allowed it to move so fast, it seemed almost like teleportation.

In the end, May gave up on her technique and let loose an original attack, "Blaziken, stop using Flamethrower and charge at Pikachu with Flare Blitz!"

"What?!" Ash's eyes widened when he heard May.

Blaziken quickly abandoned its long distance offensive and went for short distance. The Blaze Pokémon then dashed off at Pikachu with Flare Blitz, but the mouse remained unfazed by the impending attack as it continued to charge with Volt Tackle. Pikachu's electric aura and Blaziken's fiery aura were closing in on each other until the two lunged at each other once more.

"Piiiikaaaa!" Pikachu cried out.

"Keeeeeen!" Blaziken roared.

When the two attacks made impact, another large tower formed where the two had clashed. This time it was fiery tower with streaks of electricity coursing through it. The unstable power of the collision, however, sent the two Pokémon flying back once again.

Only this time, it seemed as though none of the two could keep going. The result was going to shock both Ash and May as they saw Don George prepare to make the declaration, but suddenly the two relentless Pokémon got up. Blaziken and Pikachu had once again surprised the audience with their persistence, as if they trying to let everyone know that only one could win.

"Piiiikaaaa," Pikachu groaned and its legs shook as it got up.

"Blaaaaz," Blaziken gently got on its feet as it moaned in pain.

Ash and May were unsure if they really wanted to continue battling, but when Pikachu and Blaziken turned to their respective trainers they nodded. Ash and May then looked at each other and shook their heads. "Let's wrap this up May," the raven-haired teen told her.

"I'm right with you," the sapphire-eyed girl answered, the two flashing confident grins at each other.

"Pikachu, let's give this last one everything we have," Ash told the mouse, who nodded in return.

"Blaziken, us too," May commanded and the Fighting-type nodded.

"Pikachu, go in for a close range attack and use Volt Tail!" the auburn-eyed boy instructed.

"Blaziken, be ready to fight back with Blaze Blitz!" the brunette commanded.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu frowned and began to build up speed as it ran.

Blaziken braced itself for Pikachu's move by powering up the last of its energy. As it saw Pikachu charging, the electricity from Volt Tackle returned once again, but this time, instead of charging at Blaziken, Pikachu leaped into the air.

"Piiikaaa!" Pikachu swung its tail and turned it into steel. When Pikachu began to aim downwards at Blaziken like what had occurred earlier, only vice versa, the Fire-type knew what it was up to.

The closer Pikachu got to Blaziken, the more intense its electricity got and the Blaze Pokémon could tell it was preparing to swing Iron Tail with the tremendous power boost from Volt Tackle.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken made the flames on its wrists grow even more intense, they had grown so much they almost reached the Fighting-type's elbows. May's Pokémon then became enveloped in the intense fire from Flare Blitz and bent its knees down a bit.

When Pikachu was in close proximity, Ash and May both shouted "Now!" Blaziken jumped into the air with its talon aimed at Pikachu. The combined power of Blaze Kick and Flare Blitz would have a fiery effect if Pikachu were to get hit, Ash knew it. That's why, when Pikachu had closed enough distance it swung its tail and hit Blaziken's talon.

The impact of the shocking electricity and the burning fire caused a shock wave. The powerful wave cracked the glass from the screen displays and the pieces dropped to the battlefield, many of the people watching stepped back a bit to avoid getting hit by the glass. At this point a major portion of the audience had become rather frightened, but excited at the same time, as they watched the explosive and phenomenal battle. None could believe the amount of power exerted by the two Pokémon.

Blaziken and Pikachu glared at each other as their auras intensified even more. Ash and May just watched with angst, wanting the power struggle to finish itself up once and for all. All of a sudden, a different kind of aura enveloped Blaziken that was much lighter than the aura of Flare Blitz. Ash knew the aura all too well at this point and spoke, "Blaziken's activated Blaze!"

May's eyes brightened at the sight and made her command, "Ok Blaziken, use the power from Blaze to end this!"

"Pikachu, don't let it win!" Ash shouted.

At that very second, Blaziken and Pikachu used up the last of their energy to deliver the final blow, causing Blaziken's fire to burn powerfully and Pikachu's electricity to outburst violently. The two Pokémon created another burst of power, this time the combined power of electricity and fire. The unstable energy combined by the two led to the mightiest explosion of the battle, sending the two Pokémon crashing to the ground like rocks, even denting the hard floor.

At this point Don George really hoped it had ended, since the man had narrowly avoided several falling pieces of glass. When none of the two showed any signs of getting up, Don George prepared the announcement until Pikachu slowly got up, groaning and gritting its teeth, but standing. When Don George prepared to make the declaration, he saw Blaziken also standing up as well, a little fear growing inside him. The Blaze Pokémon slowly got up, groaning from the pain, but getting up.

The two fierce battlers gazed at each other sternly for a few seconds, Ash and May weren't sure what command to make, Don George wasn't sure what to say, and the audience wasn't sure what to expect. Pikachu and Blaziken beamed at each other until Pikachu closed its eyes peacefully, dropping to the ground unconscious.

Without wasting another second, Don George proclaimed, "Pikachu is no longer able to battle, the victory goes to Blaziken and May!"

"There you have folks, after a vicious almost infinite battle. May has come out on top, ultimately overwhelming Ash and his Pikachu. I must say, those two left me completely nervous throughout the battle, I even fell off my seat at one point!" the caster exclaimed, expressing his thrill throughout the battle.

The audience cheered happily when the winner got declared and May tried to grasp the words through her mind. "We won?" May questioned as Don George's words rang through her head. A smile formed across her face and she ran up to Blaziken, embracing it in a tight hug, "Blaziken, Victini, we won!" the girl laughed and cheered joyfully.

"Tini vi victini," the invisible Pokémon hugged May's head happily.

"Blaziken," Blaziken smiled cheerfully at her and hugged the trainer.

"Pikachu, you were fantastic, I couldn't have asked anything more from you," Ash picked up his pal and held him in his arms.

"Pikachu," Pikachu smiled through the many wounds it had and the boy returned the grin.

Ash walked over to May and the girl caught eye of him. "Ash, we won!" May hugged her boyfriend happily, "Thank you to the two of you for giving me such a great battle; it's one I'll never forget you. I love you!" the brunette then surprised Ash by grabbing his face and kissing him in front of everyone, causing many people to whistle.

"Pika," Pikachu sighed as it got pressed between Ash and May's chests. Victini and Blaziken looked at each other and chuckled at the exchange between the couple.

"That was one of the most intense battles I have ever seen," Bianca had been left completely astonished by the battle.

"Looks like May earned herself a great victory, after so much training and battling, she's finally winning her second ribbon," Cilan smiled with satisfaction.

"She really turned it around, I could've sworn Ash was going to win," Iris clapped for her friend.

"Axew ew ax," Axew agreed with Iris, but was still happy over May's victory.

"Well she's Ash's girlfriend, she's probably picked up a few methods on how to turn the table on someone," Hilbert joked.

"Nevertheless, May deserves the victory, I've never seen her battle like that," Hilda clapped, hoping to have a battle like that with her rival sometime. Now the brunette had seen the true potential of her friend and couldn't wait for their next clash.

"I'm certainly glad you guys signed up for the Tao Competition, none has been better than this one," Benga smiled.

"Ummm, excuse me, if you two can stop making out in public, we'd greatly appreciate it," Don George came up to the couple with a box, a badge and ribbon sitting on the cushion of the box.

May and Ash separated from their passionate kiss, the two of them blushing heavily since they had gotten caught up in the moment. "Sorry about that," May laughed nervously as she tried to make her blush fade away.

"Now if you may please choose your prize," Don George told the brunette.

"I don't even have to think twice about it," May happily lifted the Yang Ribbon. The girl smiled happily and held it up high, "I won the Yang Ribbon!" the girl posed with Blaziken, Victini and Pikachu cheering behind her.

The ribbon itself was pure white with the exception of the golden centerpiece shaped like a flame. Ash looked at the lightning bolt-shaped badge that was pure black. The raven-haired teen smiled and spoke to Pikachu, "There's always next time, plus, we've gotten many other gym leaders waiting for us. May and Blaziken really earned themselves the victory."

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu nodded, smiling happily.

Ash then walked up to May, "I'm proud of you May, you've definitely earned the victory and ribbon. You're even stronger than me now," the boy winked at her.

May looked at Ash and gave him a tender look, "Ash this wouldn't have been possible without you. I'm really glad you supporting me throughout this whole tournament, the power Blaziken and I showed today was also thanks to you because of all the hard training we've done while traveling. Thank you Ash, I love you so much."

Ash gave May the same tender gaze and replied, "I always knew you could do it May. I always you could come out on top with some encouragement and training, I've never been so proud." The boy then grabbed her in an embrace, but Pikachu jumped out Ash's arms just in time to avoid being squeezed.

"I love you," May whispered in his ear.

"And I love you," Ash whispered back into her ear.

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu congratulated Blaziken on his victory with a grin.

"Blaziken blaz," Blaziken grinned back, complimenting the power Pikachu had displayed and how the Fire-type had to actually try for the first time in a while to win a fight.

"Victini vi tini," Victini complimented the Pokémon pair's endurance, power, and speed. In return Blaziken and Pikachu grinned at the little one, knowing Victini was like a younger sibling to them at this point.

The conversation between the two Pokémon was cut when the audience began to chant "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!"

Ash and May separated and looked at the chanting people. The raven-haired teen turned to May and asked, "What should we do?"

"Give the audience what they want," May smiled and took off Ash's hat. The girl then covered their faces with the hat and locked lips, but Ash's blush was red enough for everyone to see and his eyes widened when he felt May kiss him like never before.

For almost half a minute, they played in each other's mouth until they need to separate for some breath. "How was that?" May giggled.

"Could you…please do that a little more often," Ash turned a bit red, embarrassed at his comment.

"Sure, just let me know when!" the sapphire-eyed girl looked into Ash's auburn eyes and winked.

"Ash, May! Ash, May! Ash, May!" the audience chanted happily while Ash and May waved cheerfully at the people. Ash placed his arm around May's waist and the girl blushed lightly. The girl placed her arm behind her back and continued grinning happily, waving along with Ash, Blaziken, Pikachu, and the invisible Victini, who did it for the fun of it.

"Looks like Ash and May have over a thousand shippers chanting their names," Iris giggled.

"Sure looks that way," Cilan nodded with arms crossed, gazing contentedly at the loving and waving couple.

* * *

Walking through the quiet forest, the man in the brown cloak spoke to himself, "He's raised Tepig incredibly well since I first found it abandoned in Accumula Town." The man lowered his hood and smiled.

N grinned as he walked, "What if Ash is right after all? His treatment towards his Pokémon, along with May and those other friends they have indicate that there might be more people who care about Pokémon than I believed."

"Have I been wrong this whole time? Should Pokémon and humans really be separated, with people like Ash and May around to raise Pokémon mistreated like Tepig, is it really necessary to do something so drastic?" N thought about it for a good few seconds, but then shook his head sideways.

"No, Pokémon and humans are meant to be separated even with people like Ash around. I've seen far too many evil people like my father try to harm Pokémon in unspeakable ways. I'm sticking to my belief till the end. I won't let some mere child get me to doubt what's wrong and right," N stated, determined to stick his idea of thinking and accomplish his goal.

"I look forward to meeting you again, Ash," N looked up at the sky as he walked, feeling like he and the boy were destined to meet.

**Ladies and gents that was Chapter 35 and hope you loved it! I know I might have made Ash and May's battle a little too intense but remember that these are their strongest Pokémon, excluding Ash's evolved starters, and I really wanted to make Ash and May battle their hardest, not to mention the prize is pretty good for either of them. As usual, don't be shy to REVIEW, PM, ETC to MENTION ANY THOUGHTS, COMMENTS, AND STUFF. Hope you enjoyed the battle though and the Advanceshipping of course. By the way, did anyone managed to figure out that our brown-cloaked friend was N before the revelation? If anyone did, good detective work lol. This was the last chapter in the four day daily upload and I travel today. I don't know when the next upload will be since I'll be gone for a month, but I promise I'll write and upload if the opportunity comes up. Once again, hoped you loved it and if you really enjoy this story, you might want to check if any chapter has been upload, you never know when Chapter 36 might be uploaded ;) lol. See ya around guys, and one more thing, thank you to all the people who favorited or followed the story, but most of all to the people who REVIEW or PM me to give me suggestions, their thoughts, etc, I hope to receive many more. I sincerely appreciate all of you, seriously, thanks a lot! Anyways, I have to stop typing now, take care and till next time! **


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